Your monthly guide to rental conditions in the Houston metro — what rents look like right now, what's driving the market, and what it means if you own a rental home.
Houston Metro Rental Market Snapshot — May 2026
Here's where Houston metro rents stand as of May 2026, across all property types — apartments, condos, townhomes, and single-family homes.
The Houston metro median rent sits at $2,097 in May 2026, down 1.14% from a year ago, with homes averaging 62 days on market — a combination that puts leverage squarely in renters' hands heading into summer. That said, seasonal demand typically tightens conditions between June and August, so landlords who price competitively now are better positioned to lease before the window narrows.
| Metric | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Median Rent (All Types, Houston metro) | $2,097 | -0.0% MoM |
| Avg. Days on Market | 62 days | — |
| Rent Growth YoY | -1.1% | — |
Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, all rental property types, May 2026.
What's Driving Houston Metro Rental Market Conditions Right Now
Houston Metro Rental Supply and New Construction
The multifamily pipeline in the Houston metro has shrunk dramatically: active construction dropped from 18,775 units in July 2024 to 9,321 units by mid-2025, the smallest pipeline since 2017, after more than 62,000 units delivered since 2023 flooded the market. New projects are still breaking ground, including the 366-unit Allora Fallbrook in Jersey Village and Define Living's 388-unit Park Row in the Energy Corridor, but those are drops in the bucket compared to what just landed. On the single-family and build-to-rent side, Houston issued 75,786 permitted units in 2025, more than any other metro in the country, so pressure on rents isn't coming only from apartments.
Why People Rent in the Houston Metro
Houston added nearly 127,000 new residents in 2025, more than any other metro in the country, and the Greater Houston Partnership expects another 30,900 jobs to form in 2026, pushing total employment to a record 3.5 million. At a 6.36% mortgage rate, buying stays out of reach for a large chunk of that incoming population, which keeps renter demand propped up across inner-loop neighborhoods like Midtown, Montrose, and EaDo, and out in family-focused suburbs like Katy and Cypress where Katy ISD and Cy-Fair ISD pull households hard. Summer accelerates all of this: job relocations, university move-ins, and families locking in before the school year converge between June and August, pushing leasing velocity up and concessions down.
What This Means for Houston Metro Landlords
Rents are down 1.14% year-over-year and homes are sitting 62 days on average, so price your unit sharp coming out of spring, then lean into the summer demand surge to hold firm on rate and pull back any concessions you've been offering. If you haven't leased by mid-August, expect a slower fall, so the window to get full asking price is the next 90 days.
Houston Metro Rent by City — May 2026
Pearland and League City lead the Houston metro on leasing speed, averaging 49 and 51 days on market respectively, making them the strongest demand pockets in the table right now. At the other end, Houston city itself sits at 103 days, nearly twice the pace of the next slowest market, Spring at 68 days. Most suburbs are clustered between 49 and 62 days, with Sugar Land and Pasadena showing slight month-over-month rent declines while The Woodlands ticked slower by 6.0%.
| City | Median Rent | 2BR Median | 3BR Median | Avg. DOM | MoM Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston, TX | $1,905 | $2,166 | $3,011 | 103 days | -0.3% |
| Sugar Land, TX | $2,325 | $1,755 | $2,224 | 56 days | -2.1% |
| The Woodlands, TX | $2,367 | $1,942 | $2,572 | 55 days | +6.0% |
| Pearland, TX | $2,225 | $1,602 | $2,200 | 49 days | +0.0% |
| Katy, TX | $2,325 | $1,820 | $2,204 | 56 days | +1.1% |
| League City, TX | $2,300 | $1,522 | $2,390 | 51 days | +0.0% |
| Conroe, TX | $1,820 | $1,522 | $1,885 | 62 days | +0.1% |
| Spring, TX | $1,848 | $1,532 | $2,173 | 68 days | +0.3% |
| Cypress, TX | $2,360 | $1,572 | $2,225 | 58 days | -1.6% |
| Pasadena, TX | $1,500 | $1,242 | $1,833 | 58 days | -3.9% |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, all property types, May 2026. Median Rent is across all property types. |
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Houston, TX: At $1,905 median rent and 103 days on market, Houston proper is leasing significantly slower than its suburbs, and rents are down 5.7% year-over-year, making it the weakest performer in the metro by both measures.
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Sugar Land, TX: Sugar Land is moving nearly twice as fast as Houston city at 56 days on market, but a 2.1% month-over-month dip and a 3.1% annual decline signal that even this well-regarded suburb is seeing softening pressure heading into summer.
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The Woodlands, TX: Corporate relocations and commuter demand have long anchored this submarket, and the numbers back that up: rents jumped 6.0% in a single month to $2,367, the strongest monthly gain in the metro, and are up 1.1% year-over-year while most other cities are still in the red.
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Pearland, TX: Pearland is one of the tightest markets in the metro, with homes leasing in just 49 days, the fastest pace of any city in this table. Rent held flat month-over-month at $2,225, though the 3.2% annual decline shows pricing is still adjusting from earlier peaks.
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Katy, TX: Katy ISD's reputation as one of the top school districts in Texas keeps family-renter demand steady here, and 56-day leasing times reflect that. Rents are down 3.1% year-over-year at $2,325, but the 1.1% monthly uptick suggests the market may be finding a floor as summer demand builds.
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League City, TX: League City is leasing briskly at 51 days on market, second only to Pearland in this table, and rent held flat month-over-month at $2,300. The 2.1% annual decline is modest relative to some neighboring suburbs, pointing to relatively stable demand in this southeast corridor.
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Conroe, TX: At $1,820 median rent, Conroe is one of the more affordable options in the metro, and it is one of only two cities showing positive annual rent growth, up 4.6% year-over-year. Month-over-month rent is roughly flat at +0.1%, but the yearly trend puts Conroe in clear contrast to the softening seen across most of the metro.
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Spring, TX: Spring leads the entire table on annual rent growth at +7.4% year-over-year, reaching a $1,848 median, which stands out sharply against the metro-wide trend of declining rents. Days on market sit at 68, a bit slower than the suburban average, but the rent trajectory here is hard to ignore.
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Cypress, TX: Cy-Fair ISD draws families to Cypress the same way Katy ISD does a few miles south, but the rental data tells a tougher story right now: rents fell 1.6% month-over-month and are down 5.7% year-over-year to $2,360, tying Houston city for the steepest annual decline in the table.
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Pasadena, TX: At $1,500, Pasadena has the lowest median rent in this group, and a 3.9% month-over-month drop is the steepest single-month decline in the table. With a 1.4% year-over-year decline on top of that, Pasadena is under clear downward pricing pressure and worth watching if you are evaluating entry-level rent assumptions here.
Houston Metro Rent by Bedroom Count and Property Type — May 2026
Rent by Bedroom Count in Houston Metro
Three-bedroom homes across the Houston metro rent for a median of $2,272 per month, making them the most common rental target for families and the benchmark most landlords compare against. The step up to four bedrooms adds roughly $407, bringing that median to $2,679. Across all bedroom sizes in this report, rents span from $1,246 for one-bedrooms to $2,679 for four-bedrooms, a 78.5% gap that reflects how sharply rent scales with size in this market. Landlords weighing whether to rent a larger home will find that the Houston metro rewards it: each bedroom tier commands a meaningful premium, and the four-bedroom segment sits at the top of that ladder.
| Bedroom Count in Houston metro | Median Rent (May 2026) |
|---|---|
| Studio | $1,501 |
| 1-Bedroom | $1,246 |
| 2-Bedroom | $1,668 |
| 3-Bedroom | $2,272 |
| 4-Bedroom | $2,679 |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings across all property types, Houston metro, May 2026. |
Rent by Property Type in the Houston Metro
Single-family homes in the Houston metro rent for $2,394 per month, a $296 (14.1%) premium over the blended metro median of $2,097. Across all property types, the spread runs wide: apartments sit $746 below the median while townhouses come in close to single-family at $2,372. Speed to lease also splits sharply by type, with single-family homes leasing in 54 days versus 106 days for townhouses and 111 days for apartments. For landlords, the single-family numbers make a clear case: higher rent and faster leasing time make it the strongest performer in the Houston metro right now.
| Property Type in Houston metro | Median Rent | Avg. Days on Market | MoM Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Property Types (Blended) | $2,097 | 62 days | -0.0% |
| Single Family | $2,394 | 54 days | +0.2% |
| Condo | $1,791 | 74 days | +0.4% |
| Townhouse | $2,372 | 106 days | +1.1% |
| Apartment | $1,352 | 111 days | +1.4% |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, Houston metro, May 2026. |
Data Sources & Methodology
- Rental market data: Median rents, days on market, listing counts, and rent change figures. Sourced from county public records, deed and tax assessor data, and rental listings on publicly accessible platforms.
- Doorstead Platform Data: Internal leasing outcomes from Doorstead-managed rental homes across all property types — days to lease, pricing tier benchmarks. Trailing 12 months.
Data refreshed monthly. Doorstead benchmarks reflect managed properties only and may not be representative of the broader Houston metro rental market.