Anyone else annoyed by how EXPENSIVE the rents have become in Houston in last 13 years? (transplants, apartment)

[nostalgic_thoughts]

For the older residents (35+), remember when it used to be waaaay more affordable to rent an apartment in the houston metro..even as recent as 13/14 years ago? I was renting an apartment in the willowbrook area that was $570, literally that same 1 BR apartment today is now just over 1k a month!!

Everyone constantly moving here from everywhere in the last 15+ years has made it so unaffordable.. its very annoying. TX has turned into another AZ or FL. Just a state full of transplants.

edit* spelling

[hbcu]

$515 right behind Willowbrook Mall

$676 in the Heights (north of I-10) back in 2010 - 2 years later that same apartment was going to $1300

[Dopo]

When I moved to North Houston,
the house I rented, based on HAR, was valued in 2012 at $48/sq ft
The 2019 appraisal for that house is $86/sq. ft

If you want to blame anybody, blame Houston's marketing team for promoting it around 2010-12 as "America's most affordable city".

[LocalPlanner]

Regarding transplants, that's been going on in Houston since the 1960s.

Yes, the upscale renter market didn't really exist here before the mid-2000s. But it really took off when the fracking boom hit in 2011. All of a sudden people, many of them young, moved to town to take high-paid positions in the oil industry. They could afford these kinds of rents. At the same time, the urban core made a lot of improvements to make it a fun, attractive place to live, which attracted not only younger well-paid renters but as importantly the unanticipated empty nester renter who wanted to have an urban living experience before going on to their golden years.

Now, it has become pretty much financially impossible to build new construction for less than Class "A" rents (meaning at least $950 or probably more for a 1-bedroom) without subsidies. The change in the apartment landscape in Houston has definitely been pretty remarkable.

[Scientific]

Wait until someone chimes in with the SF or Manhattan comparison. Days of cheap TX living are long gone. Transplants were always a part of Houston, but the 2010s came at a time when people were moving to the South in droves, escaping other high COL cities, the job market was strong, word of mouth came by the way of trendy social media(look what I'm paying for here vs over there). Like anything, you become a victim of your own success.

[nostalgic_thoughts]

Originally Posted by Scientific

Wait until someone chimes in with the SF or Manhattan comparison. Days of cheap TX living are long gone. Transplants were always a part of Houston, but the 2010s came at a time when people were moving to the South in droves, escaping other high COL cities, the job market was strong, word of mouth came by the way of trendy social media(look what I'm paying for here vs over there). Like anything, you become a victim of your own success.

They are definitely long gone and never coming back, its sad.

[hbcu]

that oil dependence causes too many problems - they come, we overbuild, then they let them go, then your left with glut

[Redlionjr]

This is what happens with growing cities. Houston is no exception.

[resonator]

Starting about 20 years ago, downtown and near downtown started building/converting to residential. In the early days that area was deserted except for drug/sex dealers on every street corner.

Those with 'street parking only' had a problem, then along came those with car lock up parking. The near NE side is currently the most amazing transformation to modern residential.

[nostalgic_thoughts]

Originally Posted by hbcu

that oil dependence causes too many problems - they come, we overbuild, then they let them go, then your left with glut

You think the oil boom has slowed down?