Your monthly guide to rental conditions in Houston Metro. 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.
Houston Metro Rental Market Snapshot — September 2026
Here's where Houston Metro rents landed in September 2026, across all property types — apartments, condos, townhomes, and single-family homes.
The Houston Metro median rent held at $1,861 in September 2026, up 3.77% year-over-year even as a small monthly dip (-0.69%) signals the seasonal slowdown that typically gives fall renters more leverage. With homes sitting on the market for 63 days on average, landlords pricing above the median right now will likely wait longer and concede more than they bargained for.
| Metric | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Median Rent (All Types, Houston Metro) | $1,861 | +3.8% YoY |
| Avg. Days on Market | 63 days | — |
Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, all rental property types, September 2026.
What's Driving Houston Metro Rental Market Conditions Right Now
Houston Metro Rental Supply and New Construction
New construction across the Houston metro is contracting fast, and that shift will matter for landlords over the next 12–18 months. Harris County permits fell 31% year-to-date and Montgomery County dropped more than 17%, with the most dramatic pullback happening inside the I-610 Loop, where multifamily deliveries in 2026 are on pace to hit just 10% of last year's total, meaning Midtown, Montrose, EaDo, and other inner-loop corridors will see far less new competition than they have in years. Suburban corridors like Katy to the west and The Woodlands to the north still have some pipeline activity, but even there the pace is slowing, and the overall direction for the metro is clear: the supply surge is fading across all rental types, from garden apartments to townhomes to build-to-rent communities.
Why People Rent in Houston Metro
Houston keeps pulling in residents because the job base is diversified: energy, the Texas Medical Center, aerospace, and logistics all generate steady migration, and most new arrivals rent before they buy. With 30-year mortgage rates sitting at 7.28%, a large chunk of would-be buyers is staying in rentals longer than planned, keeping demand anchored across the metro. Suburban school-district clusters in Katy (Katy ISD), Sugar Land and Missouri City (Fort Bend ISD), and Pearland and Friendswood (Clear Creek ISD) drive especially sticky demand, since families who rent into those feeder zones tend to stay three to five years to protect their kids' school placement.
What This Means for Houston Metro Landlords
October puts you squarely in the slow-leasing window: hurricane season runs through November, summer lease-up activity has wound down, and renters who didn't move in peak season now hold real negotiating leverage, so price your vacancy to compete rather than holding out for top dollar. Watch the inner-loop submarkets closely over the next year. As the I-610 Loop pipeline shrinks to a fraction of recent levels, landlords in Midtown, Montrose, and EaDo are positioned to tighten lease terms and pull back on concessions sooner than those in suburban corridors still absorbing new supply.
Houston Metro Rent by City — September 2026
Sugar Land and Katy lead the Houston metro in leasing speed, averaging 45 and 46 days on market respectively, making them the clearest spots of relative demand strength across the table. At the other end, Houston proper was the slowest market in September at 66 days, with a 1.0% month-over-month decline that separates it from every suburb on the list. Across the metro, most cities clustered between 45 and 60 days, with The Woodlands and League City sitting at the slower end of that range at 64 and 60 days, pointing to a market where suburbs are outpacing the urban core.
| City | Median Rent | 2BR Median | 3BR Median | Avg. DOM | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston, TX | $1,716 | $1,613 | $2,109 | 66 days | +2.0% |
| Sugar Land, TX | $2,371 | $1,730 | $2,266 | 45 days | +2.4% |
| The Woodlands, TX | $2,488 | $1,954 | $2,621 | 64 days | +12.1% |
| Pearland, TX | $2,356 | $1,696 | $2,290 | 53 days | +10.2% |
| Katy, TX | $2,393 | $1,840 | $2,209 | 46 days | +3.7% |
| League City, TX | $2,300 | $1,650 | $2,300 | 60 days | +9.5% |
| Conroe, TX | $1,935 | $1,447 | $1,942 | 58 days | +12.4% |
| Spring, TX | $2,015 | $1,567 | $2,188 | 58 days | +9.9% |
| Cypress, TX | $2,382 | $1,697 | $2,246 | 54 days | +0.8% |
| Pasadena, TX | $1,577 | $1,334 | $1,838 | 54 days | +11.1% |
| 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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Houston, TX: Rents slipped 1.0% month-over-month in September to a median of $1,716, and at 66 days on market, homes here were leasing slower than most suburban peers. That combination of softening price and longer vacancy time means owners should price competitively from day one rather than testing the market high.
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Sugar Land, TX: Sugar Land sits in Fort Bend ISD, one of the feeder districts that draws families willing to pay a premium and stay put for years, which helps explain why vacancy runs tight here. At $2,371 median rent and just 45 days on market, the submarket held firm in September, with rent flat month-over-month and up 2.4% year-over-year.
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The Woodlands, TX: Served by Conroe ISD, rated A+ by Niche, The Woodlands pulls both corporate relocations and family renters who treat the school district as a non-negotiable, producing a sticky tenant base. September's median rent reached $2,488, up 12.1% year-over-year, the second-highest annual gain in the metro, though 64 days on market signals that renters are taking their time even in a high-demand submarket.
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Pearland, TX: Pearland's location in the Clear Creek ISD feeder zone keeps family demand consistent, with tenants who tend to sign and re-sign rather than churn. Rent held flat month-over-month at $2,356 in September while climbing 10.2% year-over-year, and a 53-day DOM puts it roughly in the middle of the suburban pack for leasing speed.
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Katy, TX: Katy ISD's reputation as one of the Houston area's top school districts draws families who lease here specifically to access those schools, producing one of the more durable demand bases in the metro. September's median rent came in at $2,393, flat month-over-month and up 3.7% year-over-year, with homes moving in just 46 days, among the fastest in the metro.
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League City, TX: League City posted a $2,300 median rent in September, flat month-over-month but up 9.5% year-over-year, one of the stronger annual gains across the metro. At 60 days on market, homes leased slower than comparable suburbs like Katy and Sugar Land, so owners here should factor in a longer lead time when planning for turnover.
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Conroe, TX: At $1,935 median rent, Conroe is the most affordable of the northern suburbs, and that relative value appears to be pulling in renters who are priced out of The Woodlands just to the south. Rent rose 0.3% month-over-month and 12.4% year-over-year, the highest annual gain in the metro, with 58 days on market suggesting steady absorption rather than a flood of competing listings.
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Spring, TX: Spring posted a $2,015 median rent in September, up 0.5% month-over-month and 9.9% year-over-year, putting it among the metro's faster-appreciating suburbs over the past twelve months. At 58 days on market, leasing pace was in line with neighboring Conroe, pointing to consistent demand without the urgency that tighter markets like Katy show.
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Cypress, TX: Cypress came in at a $2,382 median rent in September, slipping 0.2% month-over-month and nearly flat year-over-year at just 0.8% growth, the weakest annual gain of any city in the table. With 54 days on market, homes moved at a reasonable pace, but the stalled rent growth suggests owners should hold pricing steady rather than push for increases at renewal.
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Pasadena, TX: Pasadena's $1,577 median rent makes it the most affordable market in the table by a notable margin, and that affordability is driving real momentum. Rent rose 0.5% month-over-month and 11.1% year-over-year, with 54 days on market indicating consistent absorption for a submarket that renters are increasingly treating as a practical alternative to pricier inner-loop options.
Houston Metro Rent by Bedroom Count and Property Type — September 2026
Rent by Bedroom Count in Houston Metro
Rents across the Houston metro climb steadily from studios at $1,101 up to 4-bedroom rentals at $2,633, a $1,532 spread from smallest to largest. The two biggest jumps occur in the middle of the range: 2-bedroom rentals priced $414 above 1-bedrooms ($1,653 vs. $1,239), and 3-bedroom rentals priced $548 above 2-bedrooms ($2,201 vs. $1,653). That 2-to-3-bedroom step is the steepest in the entire ladder, meaning renters who need that extra room pay a notably larger premium than at any other size transition. The gap narrows at the top, with 4-bedroom rentals coming in at $2,633, only $432 above 3-bedrooms.
| Bedroom Count in Houston Metro | Median Rent (September 2026) |
|---|---|
| Studio | $1,101 |
| 1-Bedroom | $1,239 |
| 2-Bedroom | $1,653 |
| 3-Bedroom | $2,201 |
| 4-Bedroom | $2,633 |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, Houston Metro, September 2026. |
Rent by Property Type in Houston Metro
Single-family homes led all property types in September 2026, with a median rent of $2,211 and a 46-day DOM, sitting $350 (18.8%) above the blended metro median of $1,861. Townhouses came in close to the blended figure at $1,892, while condos ran slightly below at $1,785, a 4.1% discount. Apartments sat at the opposite end of the spectrum: a $1,372 median rent, $488 (26.2%) below the blended median, and a 116-day DOM that was more than double what single-family and townhouse units posted. That DOM gap is the sharpest dividing line in the data, with single-family homes leasing roughly 70 days faster than apartments.
| Property Type in Houston Metro | Median Rent | Avg. Days on Market | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Property Types (Blended) | $1,861 | 63 days | +3.8% |
| Single Family | $2,211 | 46 days | +3.7% |
| Condo | $1,785 | 66 days | +6.3% |
| Townhouse | $1,892 | 48 days | -14.1% |
| Apartment | $1,372 | 116 days | +3.1% |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, Houston Metro, 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 Houston Metro rental market.