Data Shows Pandemic-Related Rental Surges on D/FW, State, and National Levels
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Here is more validation that the pandemic has let up — rent is up. Yay?
In Dallas, rent in June increased 1.4 percent over the previous month and up 6.4 percent in comparison to the same time last year, according to Apartment List’s July 2021 Dallas Rent Report. Last week, Zumper’s June rent report also showed tenants are paying or can expect to pay more.
Apartment List’s report showed that Texas had a rent growth rate of 7.8 percent over the past year. Nationally, rent increased by 2.3 percent in June, continuing the trend of rapid price growth since the start of the year. For the year, rent nationally has risen 8.4 percent, according to Apartment List’s broader analysis.
“Nationally, and in many individual cities across the country, rents have now surpassed the level where they would have been if rent growth had not been disrupted by the pandemic,” according to the report.
Still, Dallas rents are more affordable than similar cities and many other large cities nationwide. Although rents have increased in Dallas, other large metro areas nationwide have seen rents grow more modestly, or in some cases, even decline.
Apartment List used Census Bureau and Housing and Urban Development data and its proprietary listing data.
In its broad report, Apartment List drilled down to the metro areas, including D/FW.
Dallas has seen rent increases for six consecutive months after a decline in December 2020. Median rents in Dallas are $1,058 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,270 for a two-bedroom, above the national average of $1,194. As a consolation, 2-BRs in San Francisco run $2,695.
Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in Dallas, but across the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Of the largest 10 cities that Apartment List has data for in the Dallas metro, all have seen price increases.
Grand Prairie has experienced the fastest rent growth in D/FW, with a year-over-year increase of 12.8 percent. The median 2-BR costs $1,368, while one-bedrooms go for $1,154.
Plano has the most expensive rents of the largest cities in the D/FW with a 2-BR median of $1,677. The city’s rents increased 2.7 percent over the past month and 11.3 percent over the past year.
Fort Worth has the least expensive rents in D/FW, with a 2-BR median of $1,202. Cowtown rents were up 2.0 percent over the past month and 7.7 percent over the past year.
In other Texas metro areas, rent grew by 11.9 percent in Austin, 8 percent in San Antonio, and 4.3 percent in Houston.
These increases show signs of the rental market making adjustments. According to its analysts, Apartment List’s data shows “rental inventory across the nation remains tight, and as vaccine distribution continues to gain momentum, we may be seeing the release of pent-up demand from renters who had been delaying moves due to the pandemic. Whereas last year’s peak moving season was halted by the pandemic, this year’s seasonal spike appears to be making up for lost time.”
