Apartment Choice

Apartment rents grew the most in Baytown among Texas cities for a one-year period through July, though it remained one of the lowest priced markets in the Houston area, a new report showed. The median price of a two-bedroom unit in Baytown reached $850 in July, a 10.9 percent jump over July 2014, according to the July Texas Rental Price Monitor by Apartment List . Apartment List , an apartment rental marketplace based in San Francisco, compiles the data from several hundred thousand listings it has on its site. Demand for housing in Baytown and other communities on the east side of Houston is being driven by major expansions of petrochemical plants in the region. Curiously, a one-bedroom unit in Baytown costs more than a two-bedroom unit. One-bedrooms rented for $1,150 in July after a 14.6 percent year-over-year rise, according to the report. Alvin had the second highest rate hike in the Houston region, with rents rising 9 .9 percent year-over-year to $830 for a two-bedroom unit. ...

The 155- unit Ann Arbor City Apartments is under construction on West Washington and South First streets in downtown Ann Arbor . Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com Editor's note: The number of parking spaces to be held by Village Green has been corrected. Related story: Rent comparison : What can you get for $2,500 a month around Ann Arbor? Luxury apartments in downtown Ann Arbor are no longer just for students. The under-construction Ann Arbor City Apartments on the southeast corner of West Washington and South First streets is the first luxury apartment project built downtown in years that doesn’t cater to students. It’s designed for young professional renters as well as corporate relocation. "It's midway between the YMCA and the core of downtown where U-M jobs are," said Susan Pollay , executive director of Ann Arbor's Downtown Development Authority . "I think it feels like, from what I saw, exactly one of the things needed in this marketplace." ...

Damien Bash owns a four-bedroom home, built in 1898, in Philadelphia's historic Germantown section . It features intricate stonework , hardwood floors and 19th century architectural details . Bash is offering the place to visitors attending Pope Francis ' first U.S. visit — for the weeklong World Meeting of Families gathering in downtown Philadelphia in September. His asking price? $15,000 for the week, or $2,142 a night for seven nights. How did he arrive at that figure? "I saw what everybody else was asking," he said. Opportunism seems to have gripped the Philadelphia area, where some residents are asking up to $30,000 a week to rent their homes and apartments to papal visitors. Through ads on Craigslist and Airbnb, they're betting that 1.5 million to 2 million people flooding a city of 1.5 million will produce a lucrative real-estate payday. I'm not being greedy -- I'll listen to anyone who offers me a price that's affordable for them. — Jackie S...