ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – A large apartment developer says Abilene’s rent prices will keep rising if the supply doesn’t meet the demand of the market.

Brenda Huffty, with Weidner Apartment Homes, says that Abilene’s apartments are currently 97% occupied and 99% leased, with a waitlist for almost every complex in town.

Weidner already owns six complexes in Abilene, and Huffty says that due to the high demand, they’re charging $1,122 on average for a one bedroom apartment, $1,283 on average for two bedroom apartment, and $1,392 on average for a three bedroom apartment, and these prices are only expected to keep rising.

Apartmentlist.com, which puts out a monthly report on the rent market, shows Abilene’s rental prices have risen again, climbing for the fourth straight month in a row.

Overall, rent is up in Abilene by an average of 8% over this time last year.

Across all rentals in Abilene, Apartmentlist.com shows the average 1-bedroom apartment is $787 the average for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,006.

Currently, most other major cities in Texas are charging more rent on average, except for Lubbock, where the average cost of a 2-bedroom apartment is $980.

During Thursday’s meeting, city council members will consider approving three apartment complexes in different locations around town, including one Weidner Apartment Homes is hoping to develop off Windmill Circle.

However, dozens of residents in the areas around that planned development have been very vocal in opposing that particular apartment complex.

BigCountryHomepage.com will provide more information on the development’s if they are approved during Thursday’s meeting.