RangeWater Plans Apartment Project in Oversupplied Austin

Some developers are going against the grain by putting shovels in the ground while real estate analysts are predicting the collapse of Austin’s multifamily market.

Atlanta-based RangeWater Real Estate is partnering with Meridian Group subsidiary TMGRI on a 240-unit apartment complex in South Austin, about 15 miles from downtown.

The joint venture purchased 7.94 acres at 11800 Menchaca Road, RangeWater said in the news release. It’s the partnership’s second deal.

The project will offer studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartment units, as well as a fitness center, pool, dog park, library and flexible office spaces. It’s expected to start construction in the second quarter and be completed during the first quarter of 2027.

The venture is betting that demand will pick back up by then, following historically high multifamily deliveries since the pandemic.

Rent rates have been in freefall, dropping 22 percent since 2022, as Austin’s multifamily market grapples with a deluge of supply, Bloomberg reported. In addition, renters have enjoyed concessions like months of free rent, and that’s not expected to change any time soon.

Developers planning to deliver multifamily assets in 2027 are aiming to introduce their products after rent decline bottoms out. Deliveries peaked in Austin last year, with fewer expected to be completed this year.

RangeWater, which focuses on markets in the Sun Belt and Mountain West, has 17 properties in Texas, its website says. That includes two other assets in the Austin area: the Darby, a 350-unit property in Manor; and Rock Springs Duplexes, a 150-unit rental home community in Round Rock.