While deliveries of multifamily projects in the Austin area have been forecast to decline in the coming years, some are still being planned.
From The Domain to South Congress Avenue, developers have projects on tap ranging from townhome complexes to mid-rise apartment buildings, according to three site plan applications filed with the city. They're in the works at a time when uncertainty swirls around the metro's multifamily market and a number of other projects have been canceled or delayed.
Multifamily vacancy came in at 15.5% in April, according to ApartmentData.com, an elevated level that's a concern for developers and property managers because high vacancy rates lead to lower rental rates and less new development as investors hesitate to back new projects.
Austin’s rental rates, for instance, have dropped 7.6% over the past 12 months to an average of $1,432 per month.
Still, 21,669 units have been absorbed over the timeframe, while 14,259 are currently under construction,
Charles Cirar, vice chairman at commercial real estate firm CBRE and the top seller of multifamily properties in the region, recently said the trend means rental rates and occupancy could pick up by next year.
“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,” he said, adding that projected deliveries “fall off a cliff in 2026 and 2027.”
SoCo House
A new townhome development is headed to South Congress Avenue, offering a for-sale housing product along one of Austin’s most famous thoroughfares.
SoCo House, as it's known, is still in the planning phases, but Gahl Shalev, senior managing director at the project’s Houston-based developer Urban Genesis LLC, said construction could start later this year.
SoCo House will consist of nine three-story buildings with 49 townhomes spread throughout, according to a site plan application filed with the city. The exact floor plans of the townhomes are still being worked out but are expected to be around 1,600 square feet, Gahl said.
The development is planned to rise on about two acres at 406 and 428 E. Alpine Road, just off of South Congress near Ben White Boulevard. The 406 E. Alpine Road property was previously the site of a Veterans of Foreign Wars post, but that building has been demolished. The other property is an undeveloped lot.
The architect on the project is BSB Design, while Urban Genesis is handling general contractor duties. The developer is targeting late 2025 or early 2026 to begin construction, with the first townhomes expected to be delivered around 18 months thereafter.
The townhomes are expected to be priced in the $800,000 range.
Bailey at Stassney
South of SoCo House, a multifamily project called Bailey at Stassney is being planned.
Located on three tracts totaling 2.4 acres at 5516 Hummingbird Lane, according to a site plan application, Bailey at Stassney is being planned as a five-story, 104-unit multifamily building. The developer is listed as Bailey at Stassney LP, the address of which matches that of California-based National Core, a nonprofit developer of affordable housing that didn't respond to a request for comment.
All units in the development are proposed to be affordable to some degree, with 21 being priced at or below 30% of the median family income, 63 priced at or below 50% MFI and 20 priced at or below 60% MFI, according to the site plan application.
The MFI for a family of three in Austin as of June 2024, the most recent data available, was $113,400. Households of that size earning from 30% to 60% MFI would have incomes between $34,050 and $68,040.
The project will be 78,000 square feet and feature 52 efficiency and 52 one-bedroom units, according to a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing.
The project will cost an estimated $20 million, and work is expected to begin Oct. 1 and be finished Dec. 1, 2026.
Quarry Oaks
Hundreds of apartments are being planned near The Domain, which is often referred to as Austin's second downtown.
The project, called Quarry Oaks, is a 297-unit project that would rise on roughly 10 acres at 10911 Stonelake Blvd., according to a site plan application.
The developer of the project is an entity called 10911 Stonelake LP, which lists an address matching that of Austin-based Riverside, which did not respond to a request for comment. .
The property is already zoned for multifamily uses and is partially developed with a soccer field, trails and private drives. The City Council approved a zoning change for the site from limited industrial to multifamily in April 2024."
Source: Austin Business Journal
Written by: Cody Baird
Published: June 3, 2025
Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on
Leave A Comment