Your monthly guide to rental conditions in Greater Austin. This is our October 2026 report, covering September 2026 rental data: what rents looked like last month, what's driving the market, and what it means if you own a rental home.
Greater Austin Rental Market Snapshot — September 2026
Here's where Greater Austin rents landed in September 2026, across all property types — apartments, condos, townhomes, and single-family homes.
Greater Austin's median rent held at $1,810 in September 2026, up 0.77% year-over-year but essentially flat month-over-month (-0.01%), while homes sat on market for 55 days on average — a sign that the post-summer slowdown has arrived and landlords pricing above market will wait a long time to lease.
| Metric | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Median Rent (All Types, Greater Austin) | $1,810 | +0.8% YoY |
| Avg. Days on Market | 55 days | — |
Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, all rental property types, September 2026.
What's Driving Greater Austin Rental Market Conditions Right Now
Greater Austin Rental Supply and New Construction
The heaviest concentration of new apartment supply is landing in far Southeast Austin, particularly along the Bluff Springs and Easton Park corridor, where a master-planned build-out is still adding density: nine apartment buildings were permitted in a single afternoon in late September, continuing a multi-year construction push in that quadrant. Across the metro, the pipeline is cresting rather than tapering, roughly 14,247 units remained under construction as of Q2 2026, though annual permitting activity fell 14% year over year through August 2026, with just under 4,000 units permitted metro-wide, signaling that future supply will eventually ease. Landlords in North Austin (The Domain corridor), Mueller, and the urban core face more stable competitive conditions today, since those submarkets attract renter demand from employer campuses and UT proximity rather than absorbing waves of speculative construction the way Southeast Austin is.
Why People Rent in Greater Austin
Austin's 3.4% unemployment rate and no state income tax keep drawing workers, but homeownership remains largely out of reach: the 30-year mortgage rate sat at 7.28% in September, which pushes would-be buyers back into the rental pool and sustains baseline renter demand. Employer campuses at The Domain (Apple, Amazon, Indeed) and the medical and university corridor anchored by UT Austin, Dell Medical School, and Seton keep a steady pipeline of tech and healthcare workers who rent near their jobs, especially along the MetroRail Red Line and the Mueller/I-35 spine. Domestic in-migration has slowed from its pandemic-era pace, so demand growth is more incremental now, concentrated around specific employment nodes rather than broad metro-wide absorption.
What This Means for Greater Austin Landlords
October is squarely in Austin's slow season: student and family movers are settled, the summer surge is over, and renters know they have more leverage until spring. With days on market running at 59 days for Austin and the broader multifamily market still digesting significant supply, price your vacancy to lease now rather than hold out for a higher number that won't materialize until April at the earliest.
Greater Austin Rent by City — September 2026
Buda leads Greater Austin in leasing speed with homes renting in 43 days on average, followed closely by Hutto (46 days) and a cluster of Pflugerville, Leander, and Cedar Park all sitting at 47 days. San Marcos is the softest market in the table at 63 days on average, with Austin not far behind at 59 days and trending slightly faster month over month. Across the metro, most suburban cities are moving inventory in the mid-to-upper 40s, but the gap between Buda's 43-day pace and San Marcos's 63-day pace shows meaningfully uneven demand depending on where your property sits.
| City | Median Rent | 2BR Median | 3BR Median | Avg. DOM | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin, TX | $1,713 | $1,802 | $2,414 | 59 days | -1.9% |
| Round Rock, TX | $2,063 | $1,448 | $1,996 | 48 days | +6.2% |
| Cedar Park, TX | $1,999 | $1,599 | $2,000 | 47 days | +0.2% |
| Georgetown, TX | $2,004 | $1,472 | $2,026 | 49 days | +5.9% |
| Leander, TX | $2,175 | $1,500 | $2,000 | 47 days | +11.5% |
| Pflugerville, TX | $2,100 | $1,549 | $2,000 | 47 days | +5.1% |
| Kyle, TX | $1,688 | $1,288 | $1,753 | 55 days | +2.6% |
| Hutto, TX | $1,995 | $1,449 | $1,925 | 46 days | +5.0% |
| San Marcos, TX | $1,500 | $1,250 | $1,700 | 63 days | +0.0% |
| Buda, TX | $1,995 | $1,595 | $1,995 | 43 days | +5.0% |
| Manor, TX | $1,900 | $1,465 | $1,860 | 58 days | +4.4% |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, all property types, September 2026. Median Rent is across all property types. |
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Austin, TX: The Domain in North Austin draws tech workers from Apple, Amazon, and Indeed, with MetroRail Red Line access pulling renters who want walkability over square footage. The city's median rent sat at $1,713 in September, down 1.9% year-over-year, and homes took 59 days to lease, trailing only San Marcos in the table, reflecting the broader oversupply that has kept downward pressure on rents since the 2022 peak.
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Round Rock, TX: At $2,063 median rent and 48 days DOM, Round Rock leased faster than Austin proper and posted the second-strongest year-over-year gain in the table at +6.2%, a sign that demand here has recovered meaningfully even as the broader metro stays soft.
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Cedar Park, TX: Median rent came in at $1,999 in September, essentially flat month-over-month (-0.1%) and year-over-year (+0.2%), and 47-day DOM puts Cedar Park among the faster-leasing suburbs, suggesting steady absorption rather than either surplus or surge.
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Georgetown, TX: Rents dipped 1.5% month-over-month to $2,004, the sharpest single-month pullback among the cities in this table, but the 5.9% year-over-year gain shows the broader trajectory is still upward. At 49 days DOM, homes here are moving at a reasonable clip for a suburb of its size.
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Leander, TX: Leander posted the strongest year-over-year rent growth in the table at +11.5%, landing at a $2,175 median, and 47-day DOM shows homes are leasing quickly. That combination of rising rents and fast absorption points to a supply-demand balance that still favors landlords here, even as most of Greater Austin leans toward renters.
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Pflugerville, TX: Median rent held at $2,100 with no month-over-month change, and a 5.1% year-over-year gain puts Pflugerville comfortably in positive territory for annual growth. At 47 days DOM, it sits in the fast-leasing cluster alongside Cedar Park and Leander, making it a relatively tight pocket of the metro.
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Kyle, TX: At $1,688 median rent, Kyle is one of the more affordable options in the suburban ring, and the 2.6% year-over-year gain shows modest price recovery. The 55-day DOM is slower than most suburbs here, so owners should price to the lower end of comparable listings to avoid extended vacancy.
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Hutto, TX: Rents were essentially flat month-over-month (-0.2%) at $1,995, but the 5.0% year-over-year gain signals consistent demand growth. At 46 days DOM, Hutto was among the fastest-leasing cities in September, giving landlords relatively little reason to discount to move a vacancy.
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San Marcos, TX: With a $1,500 median rent, flat month-over-month, flat year-over-year, and 63-day DOM, San Marcos was the softest market in this table by nearly every measure. Owners here are competing in a slow-moving market and should expect to price aggressively or offer concessions to attract tenants before fall demand cools further.
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Buda, TX: Median rent came in at $1,995, down just 0.2% month-over-month, with a 5.0% year-over-year gain, and Buda's 43-day DOM was the fastest in the table. That leasing speed, despite rents holding near $2,000, suggests buyers are absorbing available supply quickly, a favorable signal for landlords pricing competitively.
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Manor, TX: Median rent ticked up 0.3% month-over-month to $1,900, the strongest positive monthly move in the table, and the 4.4% year-over-year gain shows steady upward momentum. At 58 days DOM, Manor leases more slowly than most suburbs listed here, so the rent uptick is encouraging but owners should stay patient and priced to market rather than ahead of it.
Greater Austin Rent by Bedroom Count and Property Type — September 2026
Rent by Bedroom Count in Greater Austin
Rents across Greater Austin scaled steadily with bedroom count in September 2026, but the increases were not evenly distributed. The jump from a 1-bedroom to a 2-bedroom was $367, and the move from a 2-bedroom to a 3-bedroom was even larger at $478, making that the steepest step-up in the lineup. By contrast, adding a fourth bedroom cost renters only $366 more per month, nearly identical to the 1-to-2-bedroom gap, suggesting diminishing returns at the top of the size range. From studio to 4-bedroom, the spread ran from $1,003 to $2,336, a $1,333 difference across the full range.
| Bedroom Count in Greater Austin | Median Rent (September 2026) |
|---|---|
| Studio | $1,003 |
| 1-Bedroom | $1,125 |
| 2-Bedroom | $1,492 |
| 3-Bedroom | $1,970 |
| 4-Bedroom | $2,336 |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, Greater Austin, September 2026. |
Rent by Property Type in Greater Austin
Townhouses commanded the highest rents in Greater Austin in September 2026, with a median of $2,501, which is $691 (38.2%) above the blended metro median of $1,810. Single-family homes came in second at $2,326, a $516 premium over the blended median. Condos landed almost exactly at the blended median at $1,817, while apartments sat $575 (31.8%) below it at $1,234 and took nearly twice as long to lease, averaging 97 days on market versus 38 days for single-family homes. That 59-day DOM gap between apartments and single-family homes reflects how sharply leasing pace diverged by property type last month.
| Property Type in Greater Austin | Median Rent | Avg. Days on Market | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Property Types (Blended) | $1,810 | 55 days | +0.8% |
| Single Family | $2,326 | 38 days | +3.8% |
| Condo | $1,817 | 50 days | +11.4% |
| Townhouse | $2,501 | 41 days | +20.1% |
| Apartment | $1,234 | 97 days | +3.8% |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, Greater Austin, September 2026. |
Data Sources & Methodology
- Rental market data: Median rents, days on market, listing counts, and rent change figures. Sourced from county public records, deed and tax assessor data, and rental listings on publicly accessible platforms.
- Doorstead Platform Data: Internal leasing outcomes from Doorstead-managed rental homes across all property types, including days to lease. Trailing 12 months.
Data refreshed monthly. Doorstead benchmarks reflect managed properties only and may not be representative of the broader Greater Austin rental market.