Housing apartment complexes on the Guadalupe Rive near New Braunfels, Texas
Getty Images/dszc
Owning a home may still define New Braunfels, but new data shows renting is shaping more of the city’s housing reality than it used to.
New RentCafe data from March 2026 shows the average rent for an apartment in New Braunfels is $1,422, marking a 3.44 percent decline from $1,473 a year earlier. The dip adds a rare cooling signal to a market that has remained relatively steady compared to broader Texas rent growth trends.
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Even with the year-over-year decrease, most renters are still clustering within a fairly tight price range. RentCafe reports that 59 percent of rentals in New Braunfels fall between $1,001 and $1,500 per month, suggesting the bulk of available apartments remain concentrated in the city’s mid-range affordability band.
Breaking it down further, studios average $1,102 for about 499 square feet, making them the lowest-cost entry point for renters. One-bedroom apartments average $1,252 across 748 square feet, while two-bedroom units come in at $1,507 with roughly 1,071 square feet. Three-bedroom apartments climb to $1,900, offering about 1,430 square feet for larger households.
A drone captures an overhead shot of the 2024 annual Wurstfest celebrations hosted in New Braunfels, Texas
Courtesy of FlyBy Photography
Altogether, the average apartment size in the city sits at 950 square feet.
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The data also shows a relatively balanced, but still ownership-heavy, housing landscape. About 35 percent of New Braunfels households are renter-occupied, compared to 65 percent owner-occupied, according to RentCafe’s analysis using U.S. Census Bureau data.
The broader trend line underscores how rental pricing has shifted over time. Average rent in New Braunfels has moved from $1,526 in mid-2023 to $1,422 as of early 2026, with gradual declines recorded across multiple reporting periods. Despite that softening, rents remain above several nearby Texas markets, including San Antonio ($1,256) and Houston ($1,346), while staying below Austin ($1,623) and Plano ($1,687).
The result is a rental market that continues to sit in the middle tier of the state’s rapidly growing housing corridor, affordable enough to remain accessible to many residents, but still high enough to compete with nearby metros.
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While the rental market shows relative stability and modest price softening, the other side of the housing equation in New Braunfels continues to reflect higher-cost pressure points for buyers.
The former Comal Power Plant, now Landmark Lofts & Garden, along the Comal River, blends historic industrial architecture with modern luxury living.
Nicholas Hernandez/MySA
According to newly published March 2026 data from the Four Rivers Association of Realtors, home sales activity remained strong across the city, with 263 homes sold in total. The 78130 ZIP code accounted for 185 of those sales, while 78 homes sold in 78132. Year over year, sales in 78130 increased by roughly 19 percent, signaling continued demand even as affordability challenges persist.
At the same time, home prices remain significantly higher than monthly rents. Over the past six months, average listing prices across the two New Braunfels ZIP codes have ranged from about $341,000 to $572,000, depending on location and housing type.
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That gap becomes more visible when compared directly with RentCafe’s data, which shows most renters in New Braunfels paying between $1,001 and $1,500 per month, with an overall average rent of $1,422.