DALLAS — The Dallas-Fort Worth rental market currently sits at a 92.4% occupancy, with an average rental rate of $1,497 per month on 881 square feet of space.
That's according to a December 2022 survey of all apartment communities from ApartmentData.com, which revealed that Dallas' occupancy rate is higher than all other major Texas markets, including Houston (90.6%), San Antonio (90.4%), and Austin (90.8%).
In RentCafe's Texas Year-End Report, Dallas ranked third as Texas’ most competitive rental market behind El Paso and McAllen.
In evaluating how competitive markets were, the report took into account the number of days rentals were vacant, the percentage of apartments occupied by renters, the number of prospective renters competing for an apartment, the percentage of renters who renewed their leases and the share of new apartments completed in 2022.
New supply hitting El Paso and McAllen was minimal, which caused competition for existing units that already had high renewal rates to skyrocket and accounted for the communities' high marks on Rent Cafe's index.
DFW saw the opposite problem when it came to the delivery of new rental units.
Helped along by in-migration, favorable local tax laws, highly rated school districts, a thriving job market, and a great selection of sports and entertainment venues, the region ranked first in new construction starts from 2012 to 2021.
Dallas-Fort Worth currently has an operating supply of 3,392 communities, with 815,647 units.
In the last 12 months, 78 communities opened, bringing 21,032 units to the market. In the next 24 months, the region is expected to see 68 communities, totaling 18,997 units, come to the market based on what is currently under construction.
Over the past three months, Denton, Northwest Dallas/Bachman Lake, and Far South Dallas/Waxahachie have been the hottest submarkets in the region.