Is Austin a Good Place to Invest?

With the strength of the Austin real estate market picking up steam over the past few years, we’re seeing fewer investors in the market. They look at areas like Houston and Dallas, where they can seemingly get a higher return on their investment and automatically assume those are the best places to invest. This all begs the question – is Austin a good place to invest?

Consider Vacancy Rates

Yes, on paper Houston and Dallas do give a better ROI for investors than Austin. But, one thing that is often overlooked are vacancy rates. Dallas and Houston are huge metroplexes with almost unlimited housing options for renters and home buyers. With more options comes lower prices. As these cities continue to expand, they’ll be even more choices and fewer opportunities to raise rents or gain equity. Austin, on the other hand, is a fairly small metro area with limited housing options, especially in the most desirable areas.

Austin Rental Market is Red Hot!

If you think our housing market is strong, you should see our rental market. Many of the people relocating to Austin aren’t purchasing homes right away. They’d rather rent to decide where they want to live and if Austin is the best place for them. You also have recent graduates who don’t have the money for a down payment or closing costs, but make a decent monthly income, so they rent in the more desirable areas. At any rate, there is a huge demand for rentals in Central areas or in great school districts.

Austin is the #3 US City for Jobs and #2 for Future Job Growth

Year after year, Austin is always somewhere near the top of “best of” lists for important categories like jobs and cost of living. This year, Austin was named the #3 US city for jobs and the #2 US city for future job growth. Austin also has a more diverse job base, with more industries than other Texas cities, which gives me a bit more confidence in the longevity of the Austin job market.

Is Austin a Good Place to Invest?

You might say I am biased, but we could easily invest in Dallas or Houston, and are choosing to put our money where our mouth is – in Austin. Austin is a unique city that is starting to not to have to compete on the lure of a lower cost of living. We are still seeing Dallas and Houston have to compete on price in certain markets. Austin is growing like crazy and is projected to continue over the next few decades. Austin still has some great deals for investors. If the market continues to pick up speed, it might not last forever. I know we wish we would have bought more rental property when we first got here five years ago and then we wished we would have moved five years sooner. Going forward, we’ll be keeping our investments in Austin because we believe it is a great place to invest.

Looking for an Investment Property in Austin?

We can help! We have a combined 55+ years of experience in real estate and own our own rental property. We know where investors can find good deals and which neighborhoods are most desirable for tenants. Check out our Austin Investment Blog for more tips for investors.

If you’re looking for a Realtor who will be honest with you and take more of a consultative approach as opposed to trying to sell you the first house you see, we might be a good fit for you. Check out our Austin Home Buyer section to learn more about who we are and how we work. Then, call us at (512) 827-8323 or email us at info@11OaksRealty.com to schedule a no obligation consultation.