Austin-area apartments are in competition and trying to get an edge on each other with up-front deals.
Apartment renters in Austin and San Antonio are able to take advantage of more rent incentives — like a month’s worth of free rent — than almost anyplace among the country’s 50 biggest metro areas.
According to data compiled by the Apartment List apartment-hunting platform, the Austin and San Antonio areas tied for fourth place among metros with the most apartment properties offering rent concessions. Last October, 50 percent of properties in each metro extended rent concessions. That was up substantially from the October 2024 numbers: 41 percent in Austin and 32 percent in San Antonio.
Nationwide, 35% of apartment properties now offer a concession equivalent to at least one month of free rent, according to Apartment List.
“Operators are using incentives more frequently and more strategically, acknowledging that renters now have more time, more options, and more negotiating power,” says Apartment List. “Concessions are shaping not just pricing, but perception.”
The Phoenix area ranked first in Apartment List’s review of rent concessions, at 54 percent, followed by No. 2 Denver (53 percent) and No. 3 Charlotte, North Carolina (51 percent).
“Landlords struggling to fill their empty apartments use concessions as a way to draw more tenants without having to cut their baseline prices,” The Wall Street Journal explains. “Though renters effectively end up paying lower rent, landlords prefer the upfront discount because it is a more temporary hit and allows them to maintain the advertised value of their properties for their lenders and investors.”
Renters in Austin and San Antonio certainly welcome any help with paying rent that they can get. A December study from personal finance platform LendingTree shows average rent and utilities for one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments in the two metros rose by double digits over a five-year period:
- For one-bedroom apartments, Austin’s combo of rent and utility bills increased 28.9 percent from 2021 to 2026, landing at $1,562 this year. For two-bedroom apartments, the combo of rent and utility bills increased 29.1 percent, ending up at $1,852 this year.
- For one-bedroom apartments, San Antonio’s combo of rent and utility bills increased 29.1 percent from 2021 to 2026, winding up at $1,177 this year. For two-bedroom apartments, the combo of rent and utility bills increased 28 percent from 2021 to 2026, sitting at $1,426 this year.
“These rent increases can cause a massive strain on consumers,” says Austin resident Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief consumer finance analyst.
“If your income is rising at the same time your rent is, maybe that extra expense is no big deal,” he adds. “However, so many Americans’ financial wiggle room is tiny, even in the best of times, so having to carve out hundreds of extra dollars to pay rent each month can be a big deal.”
