D-FW Apartment Demand Bounces Back
So far, North Texas’ apartment market has shrugged off the worst impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leasing activity in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is up from a year ago, according to a survey last week by Richardson-based RealPage.
“Apartment leasing activity is suddenly back in a big way, at least for the moment,” RealPage chief economist Greg Willett said. “U.S. apartment leasing activity is roughly back to year-ago levels, after demand dropped drastically in late March to early April.” For the week ending April 26, RealPage found that nationwide apartment leasing was down only 1.6% from a year earlier. Dallas leasing is up 4% year-over-year, and Fort Worth leasing is up 13% annually,” Willett said. “Like in the nation as a whole, North Texas leasing had dropped to roughly half the year-earlier volume as of late March.”
Willett admits that the resurgence of apartment leasing is something of a surprise. The apartment industry has been bracing for big declines in leasing and a flood of late monthly rent payments with more than 26 million Americans sent to the unemployment lines by the pandemic. Renters have sought payment deferrals from their landlords, and many cities and states have halted evictions. But as of last week, almost 90% of renters had made their April payments, according to data from the National Multifamily Housing Council. And in the D-FW area, 92% had paid their rent, according to RealPage.
Willett said the rebound in leasing activity might be due to landlords cutting deals to attract tenants. “Executed new-lease pricing in the week ending April 26 is off 4.5% from the rents achieved at the same time last year,” he said.
In some markets, the rent cuts were even steeper. Seattle-area landlords’ annual price cuts are about 12% — the steepest in the country for a big-city market.
“Dallas rents are flat year-over-year, while Fort Worth prices are down about 2%,” Willett said. Despite April’s good news in the apartment sector, analysts don’t think the market will be left unscathed...
