Over the last two months, Abilene rent per square foot traveled a penny below the 12-month average rent. With the average home sized at 1,401 sqft, this translates to a $168 annual loss relative to past rental performance.
This overview utilizes NTREIS data on leased properties in Abilene, Texas. This data provides 13 months of data spanning November 2016 to November 2017, 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 2016.
When we look at rent per square foot by ZIP codes, we see below-average rents in 79601, 79602 and 79603 and above-average rents in 79605 and 79606. This northside slide in rents is part of larger trend; rent per square foot has fallen for the last 6 months in 79601 and for the last 3 months in 79603. Wylie ISD rents were 10¢ above their 12-month average and Abilene ISD rents were 3¢ below their 12-month average for November.
The steady decline in rent in 79601 and 79603 indicates a market response to the pace at which homes rent in both these ZIP codes. For the last 4 months, homes in 79601 and 79603 have leased at an increasingly slower pace and it makes sense that rents in these areas would decline to attract tenants. In contrast, homes have leased quicker in 79606 over the last four months. Townwide, Abilene homes leased, on average, in 36 days during November which matches the 12-month average.
At $997, average November rents fell $67 when compared to October 2017 and were $57 below the 12-month average. This drop in overall rent can be explained, in part, because homes leased in November were slightly older (by 3 years) and smaller (by 46 square feet) than the 12-month average.
November security deposits were 9.9% lower than the 12-month average. Pet deposits were 11.3% above their 12-month average. The ratio of security deposit to rent was 81% and this reinforces the story that landlords are being more concessionary both on rent and security deposits, but are making pet owners carry the costs posed by their pets through pet deposits.
According to NTREIS, 77 single-family homes leased in November 2017 which mirrors October’s leased inventory. These units leased at, on average, for 76¢/square foot and measured 1,345 square feet. Consequently, these leases are estimated to deliver a value of $78,547 to the Abilene economy in November 2017. Considering the coming 12 months and leases executed during November 2017, these leases potentially account for a $942,563 annual contribution to Abilene’s economy.
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