That's most definitely the case for many Dallas residents who operate paycheck to paycheck. A recent report from Rent.com, an apartment search engine and online marketplace, puts in perspective where Dallas stands in terms of rental costs.
Jon Leckie, a researcher at Rent, notes that Dallas essentially sits “right in the middle” on the national rent scale.
“It's really the 23rd-most-expensive metro in the study of about 50 metros,” he said. “So, its price is a little bit elevated above the national median [of] $1,967.”
In Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, the median rent is a whopping $2,112, or $145 pricier than the national median, according to a May Rent.com report. Dallas is the third-most-expensive metro area in the South, falling behind Nashville and Austin, Leckie added.
Rent costs in the Dallas metro area peaked last June and are down nearly 6.5% since then, he said: “And so that’s a good sign.”
Still, at the national level, Leckie said that monthly rent decreases are slowing. To him, that trend suggests that the decreases will bottom out before prices climb again as the weather begins to warm.
The pandemic introduced a more extreme, double-digit growth at the national level, Leckie said, and he anticipates returning to normal growth patterns in the 2%–4% range. Rents are up more than 16% nationally since April 2021, translating to an annual spike of 8%, or roughly $276 in monthly cost.
He added: “When you take that longer-term view, rents do continue to be elevated to a point where people are really going to feel it.”
What Can People Rent in Dallas at the National Median?
The national median of $1,967 sounds like a lot to some, but the number of apartments in Dallas at that price is impressive when compared with other cities. Denver, for instance — the home of the Observer's sister publication Westword — has more than 6,100 apartments available for the national median or less. By contrast, Dallas on Friday afternoon had more than 18,430 apartments at or below that price point, according to Apartments.com.
Still, many Apartments.com listings include a price range, so $1,967 may sit on the lower fence for more luxurious builds. Case in point: Studios at East Quarter Residences in Downtown Dallas are priced from $1,930 to $2,195.
“When you take that longer-term view, rents do continue to be elevated to a point where people are really gonna feel it.” – Jon Leckie, Rent Researcher
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What Can You Get at the Dallas Median?
Brace yourself for a bevy of options. At the Dallas area’s median rent of $2,112, Apartments.com (as of Friday afternoon) puts the total number of units at around 19,950. Be sure to act soon if you want to avoid even more price hikes this summer, though. “We tend to see rent prices drop in the fall and in the winter, and then pick back up again in the spring and summer,” Leckie said.
Is Anything Available for $1,500?
Listen, as writers living on tight budgets, we absolutely get it: Not everyone can afford to cough up the funds for a unit listed at D-FW’s median rent. Let’s take that number down a few notches to a cool $1,500. Behold: On Friday, roughly 10,200 apartments sat at that amount or lower in Big D, according to Apartments.com.Not counting ‘burbs like Rowlett, it appears that the absolute lowest-rent space you could get in Dallas proper is a private bedroom in a house for $525.
Last month, apartment search website RentCafe wrote in a press release that it’s relatively hard to “rent large” in the Dallas-Fort Worth area if you’re having to watch what you spend. For $1,500, a renter looking to land in the city of Dallas can get an apartment that’s around 805 square feet.
The best deals can be found in North Texas suburbs, particularly Mesquite. There, anticipate an average of 999 square feet for $1,500 a month — and don’t expect to find much space in Frisco or Plano (740 and 766 square feet, respectively).
What’s the Future of Dallas Rent Looking Like?
Big D has plenty of vacant land, meaning loads of housing potential, according to a May 17 news release from RentCafe. In fact, there are 76 million square feet of untapped land in Dallas zoned for multifamily construction.RentCafe further noted in the release that this could be used to create 100,000 apartments on some 475 unused plots.
The upside of such construction is that it could ultimately lead to a deceleration of rent growth, according to RentCafe. Adding around 10,000 new apartments yearly may mean that Dallas rents over the next decade would climb by 47% to 85%. That’s pretty good, considering that we’re currently on track for a rise of 123%.
