Austin's a Hot Little Rental Market

Last night we caught Project Jay on Bravo and last season's Project Runway winner was looking at wee apartments in Brooklyn for $2000 or more. We laughed because our rent is almost half that for a house here in Austin. Well, we may have laughed too soon . . . News8Austin reports that Austin "is experiencing the hottest rental market in five years, and the rates continue to climb, even outside the city." Yikes! Thanks to multiple factors, including the Katrina evacuees who came to love Austin too much to leave (and can you blame them?), supply is running a little lower than it has been and demand is much higher. People love Austin so much that they will pay these higher rents even when their funds are still as skimpy as usual.

Image by Matt Wright