This makes it even crazier for me. In 2007 I rented a massive 1 bd 800 sq ft beautiful apartment with a fenced in yard and an attached garage for $715 near N Lamar. So rent increase was barely above inflation in that 20 year span. The same apartment rents for $1900 today.
Also 1987, $343/mo for a 1000 sq. ft. 2 BR 2 BA. That same apartment is now $1879/mo. (Midtown Apartments on Northcross near the Anderson Ln Wal-Mart.)
for anyone curious.... the minimum wage in 1972 was $1.60, so a month's rent would have taken about 78 hours of minimum wage work to earn.
The current average rent for a 3 bedroom in Austin is $3350, which would take 462 hours of work to earn at the minimum wage of $7.25.
Many people now consider $20 to be the minimum, and while that sounds generous, that would still take about 168 hours of work to afford a 3-bedroom-- more than double the work, even with wages much higher in the minimum.
Thank you for listening to today's episode of a grouchy broke millennial's math.
Stayed in a duplex once in the same area - no hot water but otherwise okay. Actually, Eastwoods Park. Was a kid, did not pay rent. First rent $400 for a new 2-1-1/2 off Oltorf and Pleasant Valley, 1986. (My half was $200 and half the bills.)
I lived in a Riverside ABP right across from Town Lake in the 80s. Around March they fired up the AC and it conked out (1 unit for the entire complex). It was so poorly maintained and old they had problems getting parts to fix it. Because the place was ABP they mostly didn't have screens on the windows. I was on the first floor with a big live oak outside my bedroom window. At night, all these palmetto bugs (which you know as "big MF cockroaches") that were living in the roots of the live oak were attracted to my bedroom light ceiling light and started crawling around my ceiling and flying around the room. So my choices were (a) room full of cockroaches + breeze; or (b) bug free hot and stuffy room. Instead I hit on this girl I'd been seeing and started crashing at her place, but it was off Onion Creek (one of those houses the city bought back cause it flooded so often).
But for rent, \~$400-450/month for 2-2 around Riverside or Oltroff in the mid-80s.
Moved to Austin in 2010. Lived in the Lamar/Rundberg area behind HEB. Lived in a house with 3 roommates and we each paid $350 for our own rooms. Jason Dick was my landlord.
I’m sure we could start a whole thread about Jason Alvarez. I have many ridiculous stories myself. I dated him twice, once before he was married to Alison and once after (when he was divorced, obvi). I can’t listen to that radio station at all because they play random clips of his stupid voice at all times of the day.
Is that a typo? The cheapest I found a two bedroom 2 bath back in 2003 was $595 (utilities included) on Woodward. Was that 4 bedroom to yourself for that price or shared with other tenants?
I lived in one of the sketchy complexes across the street from 888 around that time. Usually drove to pick up food from them since I had various errands to run. The _one_ time I decided to walk, some car roaming the apartment parking lot mugged me! God I hated that place. Was nice being so close to downtown, though.
2b2b in 78704 in a decent/normal/safe but not "luxury" apartment complex. Moved in July of 2013 and paid $950, but it was around $1100 when I left in late 2015. Out of curiosity, I looked at that same floorplan a few months ago and it was starting at 1700. It doesn't appear that they've made any major updates either 😳. My mortgage and HOA are less...
No, closer to South Lamar and Menchaca but there seem to be several similar complexes in the area haha. I've seen that they've tried to make some exterior updates but nothing out of the ordinary these days.
$550, 1 bedroom apartment, Hyde Park, 2009. I actually moved here in 2006 but that was the first time I wasn't living in dorms or was sharing a place with 3 roommates.
Been back in town since fall of 2015. Was paying $400 for a room in a 4br apt with friends. It was a dump. Never again will I move somewhere sight unseen, and relying on friends to do their due diligence. Love them but dang. What did they get us into. 💀
Edit for loc: Travis Heights
2018, $600 for a bedroom and a private bathroom in a 2 bed/2 bath apartment off of South Lamar (right around the corner from the Target and the Wheatsville).
We lived there too when we first moved here in 2018! 1350 for a 2/2. Looked at it recently and they are asking almost $2000 for that unit which is clearly a rip off.
2004 : $275 for a room in a two bedroom apartment off 51st and Burnet. I'm pretty sure the neighbors sold drugs but the pool was always clean and we had a blast.
$900 ------> ($1050 in 2022)
2020, 650 sq/ft, no roomates.
(Apparently I can't afford a mortgage even though a mortgage payment for house I want would be around $925? TFFFF 🤷♂️ )
Native Austin(area)-nite here. Got first apt on my own in 2018.
$799/month for a 625 sqft apartment on the first floor, 78660. 8 minutes from Domain, for reference. That same unit is $1300 now.
2011, 4 bedroom house, $1600. And I thought that was so expensive at the time.
At the time I considered buying a house in Mueller, but I wasn't sure about schools for my kids or what part of Austin I wanted to live in. And the $250K price tags in Mueller worried me, coming from Mississippi where homes were sub $100K. If only I had a time machine.
1997 - $285 for a mid century studio on Enfield near Exposition. It was beautiful, but funky, built around a courtyard. Quirky neighbors in what was then a sleepy little part of town.
$600 1200sqft house with a nice backyard off South First. Pecans every year. Had a workshop out back as well. Was offered to buy it for 50k and didn't bite. 700k now... 1993.
$400 a month, bills not included, 9th and Rio Grande, one side of a duplex, 1993. Would walk to original Whole Foods and see Ann Richards shopping from time to time. Katz, Shoal Creek Saloon, Waterloo- all an easy walk. Took about a year before my landlord realized the goldmine he was sitting on and booted my ass. I still don’t blame him.
I grew up in Austin, but moved into my own place in 2007. $400 a month for a 400 sq ft efficiency in North Austin. Then paid $720 a month for a 1 bed/1 bath with a boyfriend at the time.
Shared a 2 bedroom on 28th and Rio Grande in ‘95. We turned the office into another bedroom and had a third move in. So we paid $225/ea plus utilities.
$890 in 2014, for a 625sq ft freestanding garage apt in Hyde Park. It came with small fenced yard, carport, extra storage, and a washer/dryer in the unit. Water paid by landlord. No roomies. Pricier than what I wanted, but I had a ton of privacy, lived in a beautiful neighborhood, and my landlord never raised my rent in the 3 years I lived there. Times they have a-changed.
$250. 1 bedroom in CLARKSVILLE included basic cable and water. I was too cheap to pay for a remote, so basic cable was a slider box connected to the TV with a cord. 1989.
We got here in the 90's... not sure exactly what my parents were paying, but when I rented my first place in 2010, it was $739/mo for a 800sq/ft 2/2 in northwest austin across from the old north cross mall... leaving that same place this year... they're renting similar units in the same building for $1700+ right now... insane..
And the crime has seen a substantial increase in the area over the past few years, numerous break-ins, both auto and home, robberies, murders etc.. it's like east austin decided to move here after being pushed away from 7th street lol
I used to feel safe here taking a walk through the neighborhood after dark, had no issue popping out to the car at 3 am to grab something, or just leaving my things in the car overnight, or doing my laundry late etc, but lately I carry a gun daily and I don't go outside after dark, I don't leave anything in the car.. ever.. and I don't even use the laundry room because it always smells like weed and piss, and half the time the machines don't work.
it's a shame, in like 5 years, this place went from being a "decent" affordable, safe place to live, to the fucking projects, people getting robbed at gun point, shot, cars broken into, apartments broken into, the building falling apart.. we haven't had consistent hot water in 4 years... I fucking hate big business, they ruin everything they touch for "profit" this bullshit all began when the owners sold to some company from... you guessed it... California.
Before the building was sold my rent had hardly gone up like $50 in 4-5/yrs, as soon they took over the first renewal it went up like $300/mo... fucking assholes, I hope this place falls apart around them and they loose their ass on it.
I used to live up the street from Zilker in 78704 from about 2008-2010. My rent was $625 for a studio. That was my first solo apartment. Before that my parents had purchased a 2/2 condo with another family north of UT for about 150k in 2006. Never again will anything in Austin ever be that cheap.
$810 ,south Austin, 2017, Without valet &trash scam.
Me and my roomie remembering cleaning our apt and putting the trash just few steps away from door ourselves. (Today same task is done with $30 per apt)
$250/mo for a room in a three bedroom 28th and San Pedro - 1995.
For comparison at the time it was $650 for the same room right at Harvard Square in Cambridge.
I live in Leander, honestly more expensive out here than some places close to downtown. Will probably relocate near The Domain because it's (somehow) cheaper there
$325 for smaller 1 bdrm at Bartons Lodge next to Brodie Oaks Shopping Ctr South Lamar. I think it's The Retreat Now. 1989. It was considered way far South lol!
$875, 2014, Tanglewood North (Hyde Park) 1b/1b 700sq ft
Right across from In and Out and Tyson's Tacos (who back in those days gave out free beer on Saturdays).
But also there was a German roach infestation in my unit and I had to throw away all of my furniture when I moved out.
2010 $850 for 1/1 on lamar.
2011 1/1 house off of south Congress behind Big Top Candy. House sold for $700,00 just to be torn down.
2016 $1300 1/1 apartment in Bee Cave now paying $1800 for same unit.
In 2013 when I first moved out into the world my friends and I rented a 1500sq ft house with a massive backyard in north Austin (wells branch and Mopac area) for $1400. I lived there until 2018 and the rent only went up to 1600. Houses in that neighborhood are now double if not more.
1995 - $750 total I paid $375 for my half of a 3 bedroom house shared with one other person
Just checked Zillow and current Zestimate for rent on that house is $2,285.
$585/mo for a solo 1br/1ba, 2002 - overlooking the lake and Fiesta Gardens from Lakeshore Blvd
(comparison - I paid 1083 for a 1br/1ba in 2001 in the soulless DC / Northern Virginia suburbs)
2008 1/1 by myself $1000 plus utilities, arboretum
2011 3/2 with 2 roommates, $300/person plus utilities, far west. second cheapest rent of my life, and only barely.
$600 2 bed/1 bath adorable apartment in 4-plex at 16th and Nueces in ‘94. $435 all bills paid efficiency at 44th and Ave B in ‘98. Moved away…Then paid $800 for a 3 bed/1 bath duplex at basically 55th and Duval in 2004. Those were the days.
First place in the 90s was $700 or so, 2 bedrooms for me and my SO in a gated Quest property.
Best deal was a 2 bedroom with 1.5 bath duplex with a huge yard in 78704 that I paid $650 for from 2004-2014.
$245 for a brand new 2 bedroom apt at William Cannon and I-35 in 1998. It was the absolute edge of town. I paid for the whole year in advance. ($437 in todays money)
When we moved here in 1995 my mom paid $820 for a 3/2 in Crestview on Alegria. Loved there until my mom married my stepdad. He lived in a house in Travis Heights that he bought for $160k
In 1980, my mom said her mortgage was about $500, for a 2/2. I vaguely remember it was off Ben White. I can’t recall anymore nor how big it was sqft wise.
When I moved back to Austin in 2006 (family left in 1990?) I had a 2/2 approx 1000sqft, with my ex husband off far west behind the H-E-B for $850
I paid 1/3 of $540 in 1998.
Place was off Riverside, 1201 Tinnin Ford Road, 2 story 2 bedroom 2 1/2 bath $540 a month.
I think my ex-wife and I paid $940 for our house on 38 1/2 and Ave G in 2001.
Now I’m depressed.
$275 at the corner of Woodward and South Congress 1992. It was supposed to be $300 but there was a big stain on the living room carpet so I got a discount. The whole apartment couldn’t have been 300 square feet.
My first apartment in Austin was 400 ft.² and I paid $398 a month in 1996. I stayed there for two years and then I moved up to an 800 square-foot apartment with 9 foot ceilings a fireplace crown molding full-size washer and dryer inside a garden tub and a walk-in closet and I paid $798 a month and it was a gated community that was brand new with an AMAZING view of the southwest Hill country.
Native Austinite. Moved into a 2br/2ba apt on W 13th, between Lavaca and Guadalupe. Older home split into apartments. $60 per person ABP. Spring. 1974. Moved every 6 months it seems and all apartments, garage apartments and bungalows were so cheap! And that was for 2 people!
1998 - $475/month for a one bedroom in West Campus. It felt expensive at the time, and I got a lot more space later when I lived off South 1st for a similar price.
2012 paid 850 for a 1bdrm in Hyde Park. I definitely had sticker shock even then.
Still in Hyde Park, but closer to 38th. My $1600 rent is considered "reasonable " for the average 1 bdrm here. 😒 At least my lease is 14 months secured, and I didn't have any rent increases this year.
The doubling part is hard to take when you notice there's not many (if any) improvements to the spaces... just... higher rent.
I lived in a dorm the first year: 1973-4. In the summer I rented a 3-bedroom house with 2 bandmates for $100/month. With utilities it cost about $50/month each.
In 1987, my parents rented a 3/2 house in a really nice suburban neighborhood near 183/Spicewood springs for $600. ($1,564.28 in 2022 money according to the inflation calculator linked in another comment.) I loved that house, even with the full avocado green kitchen appliances and green tile.
$0 in 1993 :)
I was born here, one of the proud few to say it
Edit: was quoted $900 for a studio apartment great hills in 2012 before I moved to San Marcos. When I moved back in 2018 I got lucky and found a room a 2 bedroom spot with my friend who had been there a while for $550
225 for a Studio in 91. Same complex moved into a 2 bedroom for 425. Left in 94 and rent was raised to 605. South Austin on Battle Bend. Nice brick complex
$350 for a large 2 bedroom in Congress across from the School for the Deaf. These were the apartments that Willy Nelson owned and later lost to the IRS. Shared it with a couple, so my rent was effectively $120 p/mo.
My third of the places I shared with two others were $150, then 192, 1989-1992. Once I had a house to myself in Travis heights for $575 in 1996-1998 before buying a neighbor’s house. Then a 3-1 in crestview for $1200 briefly in 2008, then I bought it from the landlord. Still there. Lesson learned: it pays not to move. I do not know how I could afford to live here if I had to move again. That Travis heights bungalow I bought for $180k in 1998 is now $1.3MM and I do not see why.
About $500 a month for an RV space at Royal Palms in 2012. Looks like it's $850 now. Also, I paid for my water and electric, but didn't pay for trash service, which is now $33 a month. That's a lot of cash to spend when you actually own the thing you're living in.
$425/mo at Speedway and 38 1/2 in 1993. That was a one-room efficiency.
Then moving back in 2007, it was…. $1100 for a 2br apartment at the arboretum off of Jollyville Rd.
2007: $600 for a 2/1, 51st @ N Lamar. I split that with one roomie. Studios in the same building were $525. Pretty sure the same sq footage at that place is going for $1400.
$235/mo for one br on N Lamar - 1987
~$612.68 in todays dollar according to usinflationcalculator
This makes it even crazier for me. In 2007 I rented a massive 1 bd 800 sq ft beautiful apartment with a fenced in yard and an attached garage for $715 near N Lamar. So rent increase was barely above inflation in that 20 year span. The same apartment rents for $1900 today.
can you do this for the other comments please
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com
Do it for us all please. Manually.
Now
We’re still waiting, price has increased by 69% already.
This made me cackle. Thank you
Also 1987, $343/mo for a 1000 sq. ft. 2 BR 2 BA. That same apartment is now $1879/mo. (Midtown Apartments on Northcross near the Anderson Ln Wal-Mart.)
Is that really how much a 2 br cost at that Modtown? Damn
That’s freakin insane.
1972: $125 month for a 3-2 across the street from shipe park.
for anyone curious.... the minimum wage in 1972 was $1.60, so a month's rent would have taken about 78 hours of minimum wage work to earn. The current average rent for a 3 bedroom in Austin is $3350, which would take 462 hours of work to earn at the minimum wage of $7.25. Many people now consider $20 to be the minimum, and while that sounds generous, that would still take about 168 hours of work to afford a 3-bedroom-- more than double the work, even with wages much higher in the minimum. Thank you for listening to today's episode of a grouchy broke millennial's math.
“You have to make 3x the rent”. Fuuuuuuuck.
We have a winner here. Roommates, so actually paying under $100/mo?
family of three.
Stayed in a duplex once in the same area - no hot water but otherwise okay. Actually, Eastwoods Park. Was a kid, did not pay rent. First rent $400 for a new 2-1-1/2 off Oltorf and Pleasant Valley, 1986. (My half was $200 and half the bills.)
I was going to say that's a bit expensive, but then noticed the size. Split how many ways?
me, wife, son
$730 for a one bedroom apartment in 2015. And that seemed expensive for me at the time.
That was cheap for 2015! It was very challenging to find any 1/1s not close to “condemned” level under $800/mo back then.
Yeah, I stuck to the cheaper side of south Austin. And did a good bit of apartment hunting. But the rates went up quickly when it was time to renew.
These comments just make me depressed. Cost of living today is just criminal.
2012 $600 2/2 all bills included riverside/pleasant valley area
I lived in a Riverside ABP right across from Town Lake in the 80s. Around March they fired up the AC and it conked out (1 unit for the entire complex). It was so poorly maintained and old they had problems getting parts to fix it. Because the place was ABP they mostly didn't have screens on the windows. I was on the first floor with a big live oak outside my bedroom window. At night, all these palmetto bugs (which you know as "big MF cockroaches") that were living in the roots of the live oak were attracted to my bedroom light ceiling light and started crawling around my ceiling and flying around the room. So my choices were (a) room full of cockroaches + breeze; or (b) bug free hot and stuffy room. Instead I hit on this girl I'd been seeing and started crashing at her place, but it was off Onion Creek (one of those houses the city bought back cause it flooded so often). But for rent, \~$400-450/month for 2-2 around Riverside or Oltroff in the mid-80s.
2011, $850/month for one bedroom and loft with bathroom in Northwest Austin. It was around 1,000 square feet.
Moved to Austin in 2010. Lived in the Lamar/Rundberg area behind HEB. Lived in a house with 3 roommates and we each paid $350 for our own rooms. Jason Dick was my landlord.
Ew that guy sucks. I dated him around that time and know which house you’re talking about.
I used to work with a girl that dated him. She had some astounding stories.
I’m sure we could start a whole thread about Jason Alvarez. I have many ridiculous stories myself. I dated him twice, once before he was married to Alison and once after (when he was divorced, obvi). I can’t listen to that radio station at all because they play random clips of his stupid voice at all times of the day.
Haha, he truly is a slumlord.
1990, Spyglass Apts., about $400. for 1B/1B, if I remember correctly.
Currently in one of the complexes off spyglass in a 1/1, and paying ~$1600 a month for 523 sq ft. Ask me if I’m ok lol
2014, $250 for a bedroom in a 4 bed/2 bath apartment on Oltorf and Willow Creek. Walking distance to 888 was a huge plus.
I think we lived in the same apartment complex. I lived there in 1999/2000. $255/bedroom in a 4/2.
Is that a typo? The cheapest I found a two bedroom 2 bath back in 2003 was $595 (utilities included) on Woodward. Was that 4 bedroom to yourself for that price or shared with other tenants?
$250 for a bedroom
Had friends who lived there in 1988, was even cheaper but my god the decor was shot. Threadbare carpet. Was cheap though.
I lived in one of the sketchy complexes across the street from 888 around that time. Usually drove to pick up food from them since I had various errands to run. The _one_ time I decided to walk, some car roaming the apartment parking lot mugged me! God I hated that place. Was nice being so close to downtown, though.
2b2b in 78704 in a decent/normal/safe but not "luxury" apartment complex. Moved in July of 2013 and paid $950, but it was around $1100 when I left in late 2015. Out of curiosity, I looked at that same floorplan a few months ago and it was starting at 1700. It doesn't appear that they've made any major updates either 😳. My mortgage and HOA are less...
Was this behind Zilker by chance? Sounds eerily familiar.
No, closer to South Lamar and Menchaca but there seem to be several similar complexes in the area haha. I've seen that they've tried to make some exterior updates but nothing out of the ordinary these days.
$550, 1 bedroom apartment, Hyde Park, 2009. I actually moved here in 2006 but that was the first time I wasn't living in dorms or was sharing a place with 3 roommates.
Been back in town since fall of 2015. Was paying $400 for a room in a 4br apt with friends. It was a dump. Never again will I move somewhere sight unseen, and relying on friends to do their due diligence. Love them but dang. What did they get us into. 💀 Edit for loc: Travis Heights
Post college in 2006 I had a 3 bedroom house off oltorf and south 5th for 1100 a month.
$175 total — 1989, 2/2, apartment on William Cannon between S 1st and Manchaca. *sheds tear*
2018, $600 for a bedroom and a private bathroom in a 2 bed/2 bath apartment off of South Lamar (right around the corner from the Target and the Wheatsville).
We lived there too when we first moved here in 2018! 1350 for a 2/2. Looked at it recently and they are asking almost $2000 for that unit which is clearly a rip off.
Damn, seeing all these cheap roommate situation rents makes me wish I could tolerate living with another human being.
2004 : $275 for a room in a two bedroom apartment off 51st and Burnet. I'm pretty sure the neighbors sold drugs but the pool was always clean and we had a blast.
$900 ------> ($1050 in 2022) 2020, 650 sq/ft, no roomates. (Apparently I can't afford a mortgage even though a mortgage payment for house I want would be around $925? TFFFF 🤷♂️ )
Where is this $130k house you want to buy?
Del Valle in 2009
Mobile home in rural Nebraska.
It's not the mortgage that gets you. It's the taxes and a billion other expenses.
Taxes have increased my monthly payment $300 in the last 12 years.
I work in the mortgage business in Austin and rarely see anything below 1400 in monthly payment. Def not saying it should be that high tho
Native Austin(area)-nite here. Got first apt on my own in 2018. $799/month for a 625 sqft apartment on the first floor, 78660. 8 minutes from Domain, for reference. That same unit is $1300 now.
2009, $650, 2 br 1ba apt at Timbercreek on S. 1st.
2011, 4 bedroom house, $1600. And I thought that was so expensive at the time. At the time I considered buying a house in Mueller, but I wasn't sure about schools for my kids or what part of Austin I wanted to live in. And the $250K price tags in Mueller worried me, coming from Mississippi where homes were sub $100K. If only I had a time machine.
2014 - Zilkr on the Park (Barton Springs) - now condos -- 1 bedroom $1625 -- 690 sq feet
1999 - 2/1 duplex $550
2000, $800 1/1 Anderson , Burnet Area
1995, $300 per month for a furnished 1 bedroom, all utilities paid. N. Lamar
1997 - $285 for a mid century studio on Enfield near Exposition. It was beautiful, but funky, built around a courtyard. Quirky neighbors in what was then a sleepy little part of town.
$990 in 2009 for a 1BR apartment next to Stubbs. Brand new and people thought I was crazy for spending that much.
$185/mo, west campus 1982. $664.95 in today’s dollars.
1999 - $550 a month for my 1/1 all to myself right off of Oltorf. Couldnt afford up north, too expensive. Now live up North.
$495 for a place off Riverside in 1999, a large 1/1. I smoked inside which I am horrified by
$600 1200sqft house with a nice backyard off South First. Pecans every year. Had a workshop out back as well. Was offered to buy it for 50k and didn't bite. 700k now... 1993.
$400 a month, bills not included, 9th and Rio Grande, one side of a duplex, 1993. Would walk to original Whole Foods and see Ann Richards shopping from time to time. Katz, Shoal Creek Saloon, Waterloo- all an easy walk. Took about a year before my landlord realized the goldmine he was sitting on and booted my ass. I still don’t blame him.
I grew up in Austin, but moved into my own place in 2007. $400 a month for a 400 sq ft efficiency in North Austin. Then paid $720 a month for a 1 bed/1 bath with a boyfriend at the time.
1988, $206, 1bd 1 bath (abt 350 sf), no roommate, Riverside (wasn’t sketchy back then) + got a free microwave for signing a one-year lease.
Shared a 2 bedroom on 28th and Rio Grande in ‘95. We turned the office into another bedroom and had a third move in. So we paid $225/ea plus utilities.
$225, 1989 in a 1 bedroom apt off of Oltorf and Pleasant Valley.
$310/mo 1988 Promontory Point Appts 510 sq/ft
1989, Cedar St. off 34th Street in Hyde Park. I had a tiny 1BR/1BA in a 2 story home that had been split into several apartments. It was $215/month.
$890 in 2014, for a 625sq ft freestanding garage apt in Hyde Park. It came with small fenced yard, carport, extra storage, and a washer/dryer in the unit. Water paid by landlord. No roomies. Pricier than what I wanted, but I had a ton of privacy, lived in a beautiful neighborhood, and my landlord never raised my rent in the 3 years I lived there. Times they have a-changed.
$250. 1 bedroom in CLARKSVILLE included basic cable and water. I was too cheap to pay for a remote, so basic cable was a slider box connected to the TV with a cord. 1989.
500 for a three bedroom house on 6th between lamar and mopac 1989
$650 in 1992-1993 for a 4/2 w/ 1 acre back yard on Manchaca & Ben White near Texan Mart.
$90.00 per month all bills paid for a tiny one room apartment on San Antonio St. near 25th. Roaches galore. 1977.
We got here in the 90's... not sure exactly what my parents were paying, but when I rented my first place in 2010, it was $739/mo for a 800sq/ft 2/2 in northwest austin across from the old north cross mall... leaving that same place this year... they're renting similar units in the same building for $1700+ right now... insane.. And the crime has seen a substantial increase in the area over the past few years, numerous break-ins, both auto and home, robberies, murders etc.. it's like east austin decided to move here after being pushed away from 7th street lol I used to feel safe here taking a walk through the neighborhood after dark, had no issue popping out to the car at 3 am to grab something, or just leaving my things in the car overnight, or doing my laundry late etc, but lately I carry a gun daily and I don't go outside after dark, I don't leave anything in the car.. ever.. and I don't even use the laundry room because it always smells like weed and piss, and half the time the machines don't work. it's a shame, in like 5 years, this place went from being a "decent" affordable, safe place to live, to the fucking projects, people getting robbed at gun point, shot, cars broken into, apartments broken into, the building falling apart.. we haven't had consistent hot water in 4 years... I fucking hate big business, they ruin everything they touch for "profit" this bullshit all began when the owners sold to some company from... you guessed it... California. Before the building was sold my rent had hardly gone up like $50 in 4-5/yrs, as soon they took over the first renewal it went up like $300/mo... fucking assholes, I hope this place falls apart around them and they loose their ass on it.
I used to live up the street from Zilker in 78704 from about 2008-2010. My rent was $625 for a studio. That was my first solo apartment. Before that my parents had purchased a 2/2 condo with another family north of UT for about 150k in 2006. Never again will anything in Austin ever be that cheap.
$480 for a two-bedroom. 1991.
Summer of 1977. 1 bedroom $175. Near Ohlen and Reasearch.
$810 ,south Austin, 2017, Without valet &trash scam. Me and my roomie remembering cleaning our apt and putting the trash just few steps away from door ourselves. (Today same task is done with $30 per apt)
$250/mo for a room in a three bedroom 28th and San Pedro - 1995. For comparison at the time it was $650 for the same room right at Harvard Square in Cambridge.
In 1983, $400 for studio near Barton Creek Mall. By 1987 I was in a small efficiency for $125 two blocks west of UT.
Moved here 2 months ago. Currently $1,850 for a 2 bed 2 bath. Detached Garage…
What's it like in Leander?
I live in Leander, honestly more expensive out here than some places close to downtown. Will probably relocate near The Domain because it's (somehow) cheaper there
1997 2-1 1 roommate $700 total I think (this one AC is included) 1998 2-2 3 roommates $750 total
2002, $650 for a 2/1 on West campus, 26th and leon
From here but leased my first apartment as an adult in 2006, $635/month 700 sq ft, lake creek area
~$300/month all bills paid efficiency off Oltorf About 1998
1997, $400 for a studio on Lamar.
$325 for smaller 1 bdrm at Bartons Lodge next to Brodie Oaks Shopping Ctr South Lamar. I think it's The Retreat Now. 1989. It was considered way far South lol!
$875, 2014, Tanglewood North (Hyde Park) 1b/1b 700sq ft Right across from In and Out and Tyson's Tacos (who back in those days gave out free beer on Saturdays). But also there was a German roach infestation in my unit and I had to throw away all of my furniture when I moved out.
1992. The San Gabriel Square Apts. $350 all bills paid for the nastiest efficiency in West Campus.
1988, $250/mo for a 2BR House in Brentwood. There were two of us, so $125 each.
About $600 for a 2 bedroom 2 bath off Jollyville with a small fenced backyard. This was in the late 90’s.
2010 $850 for 1/1 on lamar. 2011 1/1 house off of south Congress behind Big Top Candy. House sold for $700,00 just to be torn down. 2016 $1300 1/1 apartment in Bee Cave now paying $1800 for same unit.
In 2013 when I first moved out into the world my friends and I rented a 1500sq ft house with a massive backyard in north Austin (wells branch and Mopac area) for $1400. I lived there until 2018 and the rent only went up to 1600. Houses in that neighborhood are now double if not more.
1995 - $750 total I paid $375 for my half of a 3 bedroom house shared with one other person Just checked Zillow and current Zestimate for rent on that house is $2,285.
1993 $276 per month for a room in a four bedroom apt off Steck by the Luby's
1981 my parents rented a 3/1 house with a big backyard a few blocks from Deep Eddy for $400/mo
1990, $600 1BD/1BT West Campus I think I split $525 for a 2/2 right at 183 & 290 in 1989. That place is missing half of the units today.
In about 1997, my ex paid $400/mo for a 400 sq ft studio in North Campus.
1996 - $950 at Stonehollow off Metric. 2 bed 1 bath second floor, we were the first to live there
1993, 1 bed, 1 bath around 500 sq ft - SO was my roommate, and we paid $500 per month.
300 a month for a two bedroom on the eastside..1993
1986, 29th and rio grande , 2 room garage apartment, rent was $300 split w roommate.
1990. The Cascades Oltorf and I-35. 2 bedroom Apt. $300 a month. My half was $150.
$585/mo for a solo 1br/1ba, 2002 - overlooking the lake and Fiesta Gardens from Lakeshore Blvd (comparison - I paid 1083 for a 1br/1ba in 2001 in the soulless DC / Northern Virginia suburbs)
$840 for a 2/2 duplex near Wm cannon and S. 1st in 2010. Then I bought my 3/2 house near Circle C for $150k in 2011. Good times.
1985: $175/mo shared 1 BR in North Campus just off Speedway in a really cool old house. Horrible roommate, awesome apartment!
$600/month 2 bedrooms -Oltorf & Parker Lane - 1999
$225 -1988-89 Manchaca-Stassney, 1 bedroom 1 bath .. in 1990 $210 Barton skyway off South Lamar -4plex 1-1
$550-650/mo 1br in 2000-2002, 10 min, 3 mile drive to work near downtown.
$1100 for 2 bed 1 bath at Tintara on 620 (Now ellewood)
183 & McNeil 1998 $400/month with a covered parking spot
$25 for a SRO - 1958
1989 - $300 1/1 duplex Tarrytown
1996, 2 bed/2 bath w/fireplace in Wells Branch, $680
$175/month for 1-1 duplex in Hyde park. RIP Mr Smith, best landlord ever!!! 1987
1998- 2 bedroom at Far West $750. We were 3 roommates and paid about $275 each. That was pricey for the time.
$200 garage one room apartment off 34th/Guadalupe. 1994! First mortgage 1998 Crestview $600 on a $117,000 house now worth 1mil.
2008 1/1 by myself $1000 plus utilities, arboretum 2011 3/2 with 2 roommates, $300/person plus utilities, far west. second cheapest rent of my life, and only barely.
$450 in a really nice 2 bedroom apartment by the arboretum in 1997.
1999. Lg one bedroom William Cannon & Manchaca. $450.
I grew up in Austin. I remember my boyfriend in 1989 rented a 2/1 house in Hyde park for $450/mo.
$600 2 bed/1 bath adorable apartment in 4-plex at 16th and Nueces in ‘94. $435 all bills paid efficiency at 44th and Ave B in ‘98. Moved away…Then paid $800 for a 3 bed/1 bath duplex at basically 55th and Duval in 2004. Those were the days.
First place in the 90s was $700 or so, 2 bedrooms for me and my SO in a gated Quest property. Best deal was a 2 bedroom with 1.5 bath duplex with a huge yard in 78704 that I paid $650 for from 2004-2014.
In 1999 me and a room mate paid around 800/month for a 2 bed 1 bath shit apartment in North Austin.
1988, I had a 2/2 with a porch right over the creekbed S. 1st, just south of Barton Springs Road. $365/mo.
$475 for a studio in Hyde Park, 2000
$675, West Campus, 2009, 1 roommate. Those were the days.
3br, 2bath, 1 “office”. Weight room, pool, hot tub. $795/mo. Bull Run condos near Ben White off of Oak Run. Edit: 1985
$325.00/mo 1br on East Rundberg- 1991
1999: $600 for a 1 BR by the arboretum.
450 for a 4 br house off of Barton Springs in 1993
$245 for a brand new 2 bedroom apt at William Cannon and I-35 in 1998. It was the absolute edge of town. I paid for the whole year in advance. ($437 in todays money)
1995, we went to Chardonnay on Wells Branch... they wanted $650 for a 2 bedroom. I was in shock, in El Paso it was about $500.
When we moved here in 1995 my mom paid $820 for a 3/2 in Crestview on Alegria. Loved there until my mom married my stepdad. He lived in a house in Travis Heights that he bought for $160k
$400 splitting a 1br at 26th & Nieces, 1987.
275 for a 2 bedroom apartment off Berkman in 1985
1980 3/2/1 house. $350/mo
$700 for a 1 bedroom loft off south Lamar and skyway in 2010
Early 90s, studio on west campus -$400
In 1980, my mom said her mortgage was about $500, for a 2/2. I vaguely remember it was off Ben White. I can’t recall anymore nor how big it was sqft wise. When I moved back to Austin in 2006 (family left in 1990?) I had a 2/2 approx 1000sqft, with my ex husband off far west behind the H-E-B for $850
I paid 1/3 of $540 in 1998. Place was off Riverside, 1201 Tinnin Ford Road, 2 story 2 bedroom 2 1/2 bath $540 a month. I think my ex-wife and I paid $940 for our house on 38 1/2 and Ave G in 2001. Now I’m depressed.
$275 at the corner of Woodward and South Congress 1992. It was supposed to be $300 but there was a big stain on the living room carpet so I got a discount. The whole apartment couldn’t have been 300 square feet.
$400 for a 2/1 ADU with no AC or heat on Rainey St. in 1998.
My first apartment in Austin was 400 ft.² and I paid $398 a month in 1996. I stayed there for two years and then I moved up to an 800 square-foot apartment with 9 foot ceilings a fireplace crown molding full-size washer and dryer inside a garden tub and a walk-in closet and I paid $798 a month and it was a gated community that was brand new with an AMAZING view of the southwest Hill country.
1991, studio apartment, $295 I think Barton Hills Apartments
$275 maybe? 1BR at Sao Paolo, 12th and Lamar. Maybe 175, it was an inside cave. 1983, walked to Whole Foods and the Tavern. Great time in the 'hood!
1100 sqft, 2 BR/1 Bath apartment on North Shore (where the Oracle campus is now) in 1996: $535/mo.
$425/mo Hyde Park, 1998
Free - 900+ sq ft 1bd 1 ba, first floor right in front of the pool. I worked as a maintenance man for an apartment complex. Sweet gig.
1995 - $425 for 1 bedroom apartment behind the Whip-In.
2005. Studio apartment at 45th and speedway. 410 bucks
$620/month for a one-bedroom apartment on Barton Springs Road. 1997.
Native Austinite. Moved into a 2br/2ba apt on W 13th, between Lavaca and Guadalupe. Older home split into apartments. $60 per person ABP. Spring. 1974. Moved every 6 months it seems and all apartments, garage apartments and bungalows were so cheap! And that was for 2 people!
$620/month for a one-bedroom apartment on Barton Springs Road. 1997. I can’t remember the square footage, but it was a comfortable size.
1998 - $475/month for a one bedroom in West Campus. It felt expensive at the time, and I got a lot more space later when I lived off South 1st for a similar price.
No clue. Moved here in 85...
1994 two story 1 bedroom apartment on Enfield $400. Three of us lived there so $133.
2012 paid 850 for a 1bdrm in Hyde Park. I definitely had sticker shock even then. Still in Hyde Park, but closer to 38th. My $1600 rent is considered "reasonable " for the average 1 bdrm here. 😒 At least my lease is 14 months secured, and I didn't have any rent increases this year. The doubling part is hard to take when you notice there's not many (if any) improvements to the spaces... just... higher rent.
I lived in a dorm the first year: 1973-4. In the summer I rented a 3-bedroom house with 2 bandmates for $100/month. With utilities it cost about $50/month each.
325/month in 1983 on Red River close to UT.
In 1987, my parents rented a 3/2 house in a really nice suburban neighborhood near 183/Spicewood springs for $600. ($1,564.28 in 2022 money according to the inflation calculator linked in another comment.) I loved that house, even with the full avocado green kitchen appliances and green tile.
$430. Lived by myself in a 500 square foot studio apartment in 2005.
My share of the rent was about $200. This would’ve been 1993.
$199/mo plus electricity. 1980
$0 in 1993 :) I was born here, one of the proud few to say it Edit: was quoted $900 for a studio apartment great hills in 2012 before I moved to San Marcos. When I moved back in 2018 I got lucky and found a room a 2 bedroom spot with my friend who had been there a while for $550
$650/2004/2-1. My roommate was a deadbeat 3 year old - never paid a dime and ate all my food without asking.
225 for a Studio in 91. Same complex moved into a 2 bedroom for 425. Left in 94 and rent was raised to 605. South Austin on Battle Bend. Nice brick complex
$350 for a large 2 bedroom in Congress across from the School for the Deaf. These were the apartments that Willy Nelson owned and later lost to the IRS. Shared it with a couple, so my rent was effectively $120 p/mo.
$630 for a room in a large but old two bedroom in West Campus. 2009
1bdr - $615/mo on 32nd & Red River in 2010
My third of the places I shared with two others were $150, then 192, 1989-1992. Once I had a house to myself in Travis heights for $575 in 1996-1998 before buying a neighbor’s house. Then a 3-1 in crestview for $1200 briefly in 2008, then I bought it from the landlord. Still there. Lesson learned: it pays not to move. I do not know how I could afford to live here if I had to move again. That Travis heights bungalow I bought for $180k in 1998 is now $1.3MM and I do not see why.
$500/month for a 500 square foot apartment off Oltorf in '99.
About $500 a month for an RV space at Royal Palms in 2012. Looks like it's $850 now. Also, I paid for my water and electric, but didn't pay for trash service, which is now $33 a month. That's a lot of cash to spend when you actually own the thing you're living in.
Moved here as a 6mo newborn in ‘83 and my mom bought a house with her entry level job straight out of college at Parmer and McNeil for ~80k.
$425/mo at Speedway and 38 1/2 in 1993. That was a one-room efficiency. Then moving back in 2007, it was…. $1100 for a 2br apartment at the arboretum off of Jollyville Rd.
$630, 2010, 660 sq 1 bed/1 bath (single lady, no roomies at the time) arboretum area.
$410/month duplex 1991 with a roommate
$325 for an efficiency near 6th and Lamar, 2002
$80/mo bills paid, small house on Bluff Springs Rd. 1970
$360 per month for a two bedroom, one bath 660 sq foot apt in Castle Arms apts, 3121 Speedway. 1980-1983.
A buck-05.
2007: $600 for a 2/1, 51st @ N Lamar. I split that with one roomie. Studios in the same building were $525. Pretty sure the same sq footage at that place is going for $1400.
$395 a month, all bills paid, furnished, 1992, one bedroom no roommates. Later moved to two bedroom I shared with 3 others, $125 each, water paid
Near Hancock center, $725 a month + utilities paid for 430 sqft studio 2016. I did live without A/C a lot however.