The Houston rental market continued to show strong and consistent demand, proving to be a bright spot in the overall housing market in August.
Leased listings rose 9.1 percent to 4,462 single-family home rentals compared to 4,089 during the same time last year, according to the Houston Association of Realtors’ (HAR) August 2024 Rental Market Update. The average lease price climbed 2.2 percent to $2,397.
New listings were 11.6 percent above where they were last August with 6,184 single-family rental properties added to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Days on Market, or the actual time it took to lease a home, expanded to 32 days from 28 days last year.
“The rental market has remained steadfast while other sectors of Houston’s housing market have experienced fluctuations,” said HAR Chair Thomas Mouton with Century 21 Exclusive Properties. “We could see more renters interested in homeownership after the Federal Reserve’s expected rate cut on Wednesday.”
The townhome/condominium rental market experienced steady demand in August. Leases of those properties rose 1.7 percent year-over-year to 721 units compared to 709 last year. The average lease price edged up by 0.6 percent to $1,979. There were 1,273 new listings, marking a 21.8 percent increase compared to last August. Days on Market increased to 38 days from 33 last year.
HAR’s Rental Market Update is distributed the third Wednesday of each month, one week after the release of the monthly Sales Market Update. An archive of all HAR housing reports is available in the HAR Online Newsroom.
