Despite the jump in rental costs, San Antonio still ranked as the nation’s fifth-most affordable large rental market. Credit: Wikimedia Commmons / Photos public domain

San Antonio’s reputation as one of the nation’s most affordable big cities might soon be a thing of the past, as rents in the Alamo City rose faster than any other big city in Texas last year, according to a recent report.

Between Dec. 2021 and last month, rents in San Antonio rose 5.1%, according to online real estate brokerage Redfin. That trend is in sharp contrast to other large cities in Texas, most of which saw rents decline over the past 12 months.

In Houston, rents declined 4.6% to an average of $1,745 a month, while in Austin, the cost of renting an apartment dropped 2% to $2,270 a month. Dallas was the only other large city in the Lone Star State to see rents go up last year, jumping a meager 0.9% to an average of $2,131 a month.

Although rents in the Alamo City appear to be on the rise, the average rental cost remains lower than in other Texas cities, costing only $1,456 a month on average.

Even so, with the average interest on a 30-year-fixed mortgage hanging out at around 6.15%, according to the latest data from mortgage lender Freddie Mac, more people may opt for rentals as opposed to buying homes, leading to a shortage of rentals in the market, driving prices even higher.

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This article appears in Jan 11-24, 2023.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...