March 7, 2022

Dallas-Fort Worth Q4 Multifamily Market Report: Rapid Renter Demand Growth Fuels Steep Vacancy Decline

Highlights:

Operating fundamentals reached unprecedented levels in the Dallas-Fort Worth multifamily market in 2021. Despite another active year of new apartment construction, supply growth could not keep pace with a surge in new renter demand for units, causing vacancies to tighten and operators to implement double-digit rent increases throughout the region.
Vacancy fell 60 basis points during the fourth quarter, following a decline of 150 basis points in the preceding three months. For the full year, the rate dropped 270 basis points to 2.9 percent.
The tightening operating conditions provided the leverage for significant rent growth. Rents in Dallas-Fort Worth rose 17.1 percent in 2021, ending the year at $1,385 per month. Additional gains are likely, and the Metroplex is forecast to record some of the fastest rent growth in the country in 2022.
The local investment market continued to gain momentum in the fourth quarter. Transaction activity essentially doubled levels from one year earlier and once again led the nation. In transactions where pricing information was available, the median price in 2021 spiked 33 percent to $191,700 per unit.