Rent prices in Houston might just be one of the few sighs of relief for those feeling the pinch in their wallets. A fresh report, as per CW39, ranks Houston as the second most affordable major city for renters across the nation. This comes as a welcome note for Houstonians grappling with growing housing expenses.

In the analysis conducted by Redfin, the median apartment rent was stacked against the median income of renter households, revealing that Houston's median advertised rent stood at $1,239 for the last quarter ending December 31. Yet, CoStar, a commercial real estate information company, projects that the supply of around 10 thousand new apartments in Houston this year could eventually lead to a push in rent prices later in the year.

A deeper dive into the numbers by Redfin, as reported by a Houston Chronicle report, shows that Houston renters enjoyed a median household income of about $58,000 last year — a healthy 17.6% more than the $50,000 estimated necessary to rent a median-priced apartment locally. "Houston has always been one of the more affordable metros, because it is one of the places where it’s more affordable to build and incomes tend to be strong relative to housing," said Daryl Fairweather, Redfin's chief economist.

Rent prices, however, aren't predicted to stay subdued indefinitely, with CoStar's director of market analytics, Itziar Aguirre, suggesting that a slowdown in apartment construction could bring about some balance, nudging Houston rent prices up in 2025. CoStar forecasts an average annual rent growth of 2.6% to 2.7% from 2025 to 2027, a rate that overshadows the pre-pandemic figures. Meanwhile, in a comparison of affordability, Austin took the lead with the lowest median rent of $1,394 and a median renter household income of $69,780 last year, according to the same analysis by Redfin.

While Houstonians may be enjoying some level of affordability today, the city's rental landscape is bracing for changes as the market dictates. Whether these changes will significantly impact overall affordability in the long term remains to be seen. For now, however, renters in the city have a competitive edge over their counterparts in many other major cities across the U.S.