El Paso apartment boom continues; 24 applicants per unit, on average By Sara Sanchez / El Paso Inc.

As the pandemic ebbs into another year, El Paso’s housing market remains hot and prices are rising. That includes apartment rental prices as demand far outstrips supply. Along with the rest of the country, El Paso is also facing rising property taxes, utilities and maintenance costs, and renters are not immune from increasing costs of living.

The average apartment rental price in El Paso is about $932, said Scott Lynch, executive director of the El Paso Apartment Association. The occupancy rate is at a historic high – about 96%, Lynch said. According to RentCafe, an apartment-search website that publishes national rental market studies, El Paso is the 22nd most competitive apartment market in the country, with high occupancy rates and an average of 24 applicants per apartment unit.

“Most places have a waiting list,” Lynch said.

El Paso’s occupancy rate is the eighth highest in the country, according to the report, which also noted that the average renter’s credit score is 626, below the national average of 640.

Living in an apartment has its perks, including rarely needing a do-it-yourself mentality when it comes to maintenance. But property maintenance is not free and has been impacted by supply chain issues.

“With all the supply chain disruptions, maintenance has really gone up,” Lynch said. “Parts, filters, any kind of maintenance, those have really gone up.” Lynch said insurance premiums have also risen drastically in Texas, and that Texas is one of the states with the highest number of natural disasters. “Insurance premiums have gone up, and costs are reflected in increased operational costs, which are eventually passed down to the tenant,” he said.

El Paso’s bump in property taxes is not just felt by individual property owners, Lynch said, but also by tenants facing increased rent. “One thing residents don’t realize is that they don’t get property taxes in the mail, but they are paying in the form of rent,” Lynch said. “We encourage people to be involved in the local process. Franchise fees, property taxes, utility rates going up, all those things get passed down. All those issues affect them as well.”

Lynch said demand for apartments have gone up in the far Westside and Northeast parts of the city, and said it could be that’s where tenants are finding the most options.

“One thing we’re hearing, apartments that are priced in the range of a soldier’s housing allowance, those are really at a shortage,” Lynch said. “We are hearing from military families that they’re having trouble finding housing in their price range.”

He said there are more than 2,400 apartments in various stages of construction or planning around the city, with about 400 under construction. Lynch said the pandemic shifted the plans of some apartment renters, including some who have chosen to delay moving or who have moved back in with parents or other family members. “With the vaccine, people returned to the market,” Lynch said. “Demand for apartments really increased. During the pandemic, construction had really slowed or stopped. Raw materials, the lumber industry, parts that go into building apartments, factories have shut down around the world. Supply and demand has increased operational costs.”