With a median rent for new listings of $2,930, Austin is still one of the most expensive cities for renters, per the latest from rental company Dwellsy.

Why it matters: Already-expensive rents have climbed in 2022, making it harder for people to afford housing close in.

By the numbers: Among the thousands of Austin-area listings posted through Dwellsy, asking price for rent increased 86.3% (!) from August 2021 to August 2022, the report showed, making Austin the fifth-most expensive metro area in the country.

• And it ranked No. 5 in the list of Dwellsy cities where rents grew the fastest.

Driving the news: Demand for rental single-family homes is driving the market, per Dwellsy. Rent prices for those homes are up more than 36% year over year, while apartment rent has risen only 4.7%.

Yes, but: Rents could finally be peaking. Realtor.com's latest report shows August median rental prices nationwide were down from July — the first decrease since November 2021, Axios' Emily Peck writes.

The big picture: Many would-be buyers are stuck renting as surging mortgage rates make buying a nonstarter.

• High demand and critically low supply drive rents up.
• Once landlords realize they can charge more for a unit, "they're going to keep increasing the price to capture as much profit as they can," Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather told Peck in an earlier story.

🏆 Pro tip: Check out our one-minute guide to negotiating better rent.

At least new apartment construction is on the uptick.

The big picture: The skyrocketing cost of housing is at least partly driven by an influx of coastal tech-industry emigres during a pandemic that reconceived where we could work.

Yes, but: The latest city data released in September shows Austin is falling further and further behind on its 2017 goal of 60,000 new affordable homes by 2028.

• In 2021, the city produced just 1,619 units affordable to households earning 80% of the median family income or below, far short of the annual goal of 6,000 units.

What's next: The Austin City Council last week gave the go-ahead to redevelop the city-owned HealthSouth tract just east of the Texas State Capitol, a big step for a project slated to include 232 units of affordable housing.

• "We are thrilled … to help deliver an unprecedented level of affordable housing — it will double the number of income-restricted units in downtown Austin," Fayez Kazi, CEO of Capital A Housing, said.

💰 The venture capital arm of the CIA — yeah, we didn't know that existed, either — is investing in a handful of companies with local ties, among them "de-extinction" firm Colossal, AI chipmaker Mythic and data platform Anaconda. (Austin Inno)

🏡 Austin's Planning Commission is split over whether to save a lakefront estate from demolition by zoning it historic amid concerns that include whether a previous owner promoted segregation as the owner of the Tavern on North Lamar in the 1950s. (Austin Monitor)

🏅 For its service to Latino students, Texas State won the Seal of Excelencia from Excelencia in Education, a nonprofit aimed at accelerating Latino student success in higher education. (Texas State Newsroom)

🚓 The head of Austin's police oversight office has resigned, days after City Council voted against reinstating investigative authority to her office. The city manager said she left for family reasons. (Austin American-Statesman 🔒)

The former site of a cherished West Campus cafe may be razed and replaced with a tower.

Driving the news: Student housing firm LV Collective has filed documents with the city to build a 30-story project on the site, today recognizable for its French Quarter-style wrought-iron wraparound balcony, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

Why it matters: The site at 504 W. 24th St., just a block from the University of Texas, is currently occupied by a Starbucks and a Smoothie King — but once was home to Les Amis, a popular gathering spot for musicians and students, and Inner Sanctum Records.

• Musician Roky Erickson and members of the band the Butthole Surfers were among Les Amis' many regulars — and scenes from Richard Linklater's 1990 film "Slacker" were shot there.
• Prefiguring a wave of change in Austin, the cafe and the record shop, facing rent increases, closed in 1997.

The bottom line: A spokesperson for LV Collective told the Statesman that it is "too premature to share further details or comment further right now."

💼 Check out who’s hiring around the city.

1. Newsletter Editor at Austonia.
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Dozens of donated dresses will now help kids look their prom best.

Driving the news: Volunteers with Prom Rack last week picked up their largest-ever donation from a single donor — 87 new gowns and jewelry from Atiana's Boutique in Cedar Park, per ATX Good News.

• Prom Rack is a local nonprofit that provides high school students with free formal wear for prom.

What they're saying: "One of the important things to us is that every student attending prom wears their perfect dress — but we also know that not every student has that opportunity," Atiana's manager, Leanne S., tells Axios.

What's next: The gowns will go into storage until next spring's Prom Rack Boutique Day, when students meet with personal shoppers to find the prom attire that suits them, per ATX Good News.