Austin Business Journal shares, "One of Austin’s busiest single-family homebuilders is diving into the multifamily market in Central Texas.
Arizona-based Taylor Morrison, the fourth-busiest homebuilder in Austin last year, is bringing its multifamily brand, Yardly, to Pflugerville, according to an announcement. The new development, called Yardly Kelly Lane, will have 175 apartment-style units that are elevated a bit from traditional apartments with features like private backyards.
And while Austin’s multifamily housing market is experiencing elevated vacancy rates, Darin Rowe, Yardly president, said the company views the project as a long-term investment in a market that will eventually normalize.
Yardly Kelly Lane will be built on an 11-acre tract at 5601 Kelly Lane, located west of State Highway 130 in an area dense with housing and near both a middle school and a high school. Construction will begin later this spring, with the first move-ins expected later this year.
Yardly Kelly Lane’s apartments will be single-floor structures with limited to no shared walls, as well as backdoors fitted with dog doors and private backyards.
Austin's multifamily vacancy rate registered 15.5% in April, according to Apartmentdata.com. Amid the high vacancy, average monthly rental rates have fallen nearly 8% over the past 12 months, to $1,432.
But Rowe said Yardly is building for the future market, not the current one.
“We’re taking a longer-term approach to growing the brand and know that normalization in the Austin market will return with continued interest in this diverse and well-received product type,” Rowe said.
The company may be on to something.
Charles Cirar, vice chairman at CBRE and the top multifamily sales broker in the city, noted earlier this month that his firm expects 35,916 units to be absorbed in the metro in 2025 and only 24,277 new units to be delivered. After that, projected multifamily deliveries "fall off a cliff in 2026 and 2027.”
As a result, “if the market continues to absorb anywhere close to 2024 demand, the narrative will turn to a rental shortage and steeply escalating rents by mid-year 2026,” Cirar said.
A major question recently has been the impact of tariffs on construction projects. Rowe said it’s unclear at this point.
“It's really too early to quantify the impacts of the proposed tariffs, but we should understand more in the coming weeks,” Rowe said.
“Since the pandemic, Taylor Morrison has been working hard to bring necessary building materials domestic, but we are not whole in our efforts," he said. "We will continue to navigate potential tariffs and other near-term disruptions with a commitment to providing quality housing in the future to an undersupplied market.”"
Source: Austin Business Journal
Written by: Cody Baird
Published: May 1, 2025
Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on
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