April 2018 Abilene Rent Report
Spring increases the pace at which homes rent and leasing in 2018 is no exception for Abilene rentals. For the second month in a row, homes leased faster in AISD, WISD and town wide.
This overview utilizes NTREIS data on leased properties in Abilene, Texas. This data provides 13 months of data spanning April 2017 to April 2018, allowing the user to look across these months at changes in rental prices, days on market and inventory available town wide, both by school district and by ZIP code. The percentage changes calculated in this table compare the current month’s statistics to an average of the last 12-months and the data from the same month in the 2017.
When analyzed by ZIP code, only 79603 experienced a slower pace when it came to booking leases for rentals. It took 48 days to lease a home in 79603 which was a return to February’s pace for leasing in 79603.
Homes in 79601, 79602 and 79606 led in pace of renting. These rentals were comparable in age or older than homes leased in these areas in the last 12 months. Rentals in 79602 and 79606 have enjoyed this pace for an unbroken, three months. On average, Wylie ISD homes leased in 17 days and Abilene ISD homes leased in 24 days.
At 79¢ per square foot, April 2018 saw flat but improved rents when compared to the first part of 2018. This rate matches last month’s rent rate and is the same rent rate realized in April of last year. If we consider April-to-April inflation of 2.43%, rent per square foot has experienced a real loss of 2¢ per square foot. For an average-sized, 1,397 square foot rental this translates to a $27.94 real monthly loss in rent compared to returns 12 months prior.
The graph looks at rent-per-sqft from December 2012 through April. This statistic has been adjusted for inflation so that real gains in rent can be considered for Abilene, Abilene ISD and Wylie ISD. Data was adjusted for inflation using the Housing CPI published by the Federal Reserve Bank, St. Louis.
The improved pace of rentals gave landlords confidence make significant increases on security deposits and reject applicants with pets. Average security deposits were $922, almost $50 above the 12-month average. Only 22% of April’s leases were devised for applicants with pets. This is a 13-month minimum, but pet deposits were down $40 with an average obligation of $242.
April’s ratio of deposit-to-rent was up for the fourth month at 85%. At 2 points off the average, this measure underscores that landlords continue to press tenants to secure potential damages when crafting leases.
According to NTREIS, 83 single-family homes leased in April 2018 which is 2 units above the annual average and 12 units above April 2017. These units leased at, on average, for 79¢/sqft and measured 1,397 square feet. Consequently, these leases are estimated to deliver a value of $91,601 to the Abilene economy in March 2018. Considering the coming 12 months and leases executed during March 2018, these leases potentially account for a $1,099,215 annual contribution to Abilene’s economy.
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