The Dallas-Fort Worth multifamily market had a record-breaking year in 2021. Supporting the performance was the appeal of the Metroplex to outsiders.
According to U-Haul’s 2021 Growth Index Report, Texas was No. 1 in the U.S. At the same time, Zillow Research reported Dallas-Fort Worth was the most moved to region in nation.
Beyond new residents moving to Dallas-Fort Worth, major employers are relocating their headquarters. AECOM was the sixth Fortune 500 company to relocate their headquarters to DFW in the last six years. Also in 2021, another six tech-focused companies announced their plans to move offices into the region.
More residents and more jobs led to greater housing demand as the DFW apartment operators recorded more than 40,200 net move-ins. It was the highest net absorption rate in the country.
Vigorous apartment demand is forecast this year, though high leasing activity is projected to shift from popular urban submarkets, such as Intown Dallas, Intown Fort Worth/University, and East Dallas, to suburban submarkets. The Frisco, the Grand Prairie and the South Arlington/Mansfield submarkets are forecast to lead the metro in annual absorption in 2022.
North of Dallas, the Frisco submarket is a suburban region in Dallas-Fort Worth. Frisco is home to large employers such as Toyota Corporation, T-Mobile and Oracle, which saves residents from a 30-minute commute to Intown Dallas, and features its own minor league baseball team, along with other entertainment options. Frisco’s small-town feel, accompanied with its urban amenities, drives the submarket’s demand.
In 2022, the Frisco submarket is predicted to have the highest number of net move-ins out of all 48 submarkets in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, with nearly 3,000 net unit absorptions. Frisco’s high demand is also partially due to the influx of new inventory to the submarket in the last five years. From 2016 to 2021, over 12,400 new units have come online in the submarket. Developers’ interest in the submarket is predicted to continue with 3,550 units planned to join the submarket in 2022.
The Grand Prairie and the South Arlington/Mansfield submarkets are located between Dallas and Fort Worth, offering residents a suburban haven between the two bustling urban areas. Apartment demand in both submarkets is forecast to significantly grow in 2022.
The Grand Prairie submarket is expected to have 1,420 net move-ins, an annual increase of 68.0% Meanwhile, the South Arlington/Mansfield submarket is projected to have 1,392, increasing 184.1% year over year.
The climbing demand in these suburban metros is partially due to their affordability and proximity to both urban areas. Effective rent in the Grand Prairie and the South Arlington/Mansfield submarkets are below the market average of $1,397, and the submarkets offer residents the ideal location to commute into either Fort Worth and Dallas or work for large local employers such as Lockheed Martin and General Motors.
-Berkadia Research