San Antonio rents climb another 0.9% in May, marking their fifth consecutive month of increases

The cost of renting an apartment in San Antonio continued to climb for the fifth consecutive month as the median rental price edged up 0.9% in May, according to a new report from Apartment List.

On average, renting a one-bedroom apartment in the Alamo City now costs $1,051 monthly, according to an analysis from the online apartment marketplace. What’s more, the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is around $1,299.

Renting an apartment in San Antonio now costs 14.5% more than it did a year ago and nearly 20% more than before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report.

Even so, the rise in San Antonio rental costs is subdued when compared to other large cities in Texas. Rents in Austin are up by nearly a quarter since March 2020, according to Apartment List.

Texans looking to combat the expenses that come with ever-increasing inflation, which hit 6.2% in April, may look to Houston, where median rental prices only rose by 10% over that period.

Beyond inflation, another driver of SA's rent spike could be increased interest in the real estate market from outside speculators.

Last year, nearly half of the homes in Bexar County were bought by real estate investors, according to a report published by the National Association of Realtors. Tarrant County saw the highest number of investor purchases in the Lone Star State, where speculators snapped up 52% of single-family homes.

Here's how apartment rental prices in San Antonio since March 2020 stack up against other Texas cities, according to Apartment List:

1. Austin, +24.1%
2. Fort Worth, +21.4%
3. Dallas, +20.3%
4. San Antonio, 19.6%
5. Houston, 10.2%

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