apartment market

According to the Statesman, the former Whitley Printing Co. building site on third between Brazos and San Jacinto is under contract to Riverside Resources which is evaluating plans to build an apartment complex on the site.

Over the last decade, Austin has been one of the strongest rental markets in the country. As rents increased while supply grew, developers continued to come to Austin to add new rental capacity.

Over the last few months, this trend has reversed. With thousands of new units hitting the market and economic conditions deteriorating, both rents and vacancy have begun to slide.

One argument frequently trotted out against zoning for greater density is that it encourages the redevelopment of low-income rental.  But it is silly to believe that zoning can maintain the stock of affordable housing.  When rents lag behind home prices, owners will simply convert the apartments into condos.