MIDLAND, Texas — It was the perfect storm.
The struggles of the oil industry combined with the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the nation.
"We ran into a perfect storm of issues regarding the energy sector, global energy flows, and transactions and disputes going on. And also the coronavirus situation which also you know all these things is a perfect storm. So we’re really being hit hard in the Permian regarding this," City of Midland Community Development Manager Isaac Garnett said.
Those events caused Midland to be overtaken by the Woodlands, near Houston, in average monthly rent rate.
In a report by RENTCafé, Midland saw a decrease in monthly rent rate by 10.3 percent.
This continues a recent trend that has been going on for the last few months.
"Well, you know our rents were running along with the Woodlands up in Houston. It was $1,400-$1,600 per unit. But it has declined 10% of the last month, but it also has been declining pretty much since the first of the year," Garnett said.
And while the oil industry has struggled recently along with the COVID-19 threat, not all is bad. With rent prices going down, more people will be able to afford to live in Midland.
"The best thing about where we are now is that it may open the door for people who normally would not have been able to afford housing and so that can allow them to finally get the first mortgage, if you will, or even rent that won’t take up as much as their income as before so that’s how I try to stay positive," Garnett said.
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