Are D-FW Renters Running to the 'Burbs?
Are North Texas apartment renters fleeing the central city? Apartment occupancies are falling in Dallas’ center city markets but continue to rise in the suburbs. Renters moved out of buildings in the downtown area, Uptown, Oak Lawn and Deep Ellum in the second quarter, according to the latest data from researchers at RealPage.
At the same time, leasing activity continued in suburban rental communities. Suburban apartment communities in the D-FW area saw a 40% rise in searches in recent months, according to a study by Apartments.com. And the 13 largest U.S. metro areas saw at least a 38% jump in suburban rental searches from the city center.
“Shelter-in-place orders have driven renters in tiny city-center apartments to wish they had more space to move around inside, a yard to play outdoors or even a quiet neighborhood to exercise,” Apartment.com analysts said in a new report. “Is the idea of city-centric residents flocking to the suburbs for more space and reconsidering their priorities for living conditions and neighborhood population/atmosphere occurring?”
Greg Willett, chief economist for RealPage, doesn’t see the shift in D-FW as being that broad. “Renter age likely influences the short-term results,” Willett said. “The youngest renters in the urban core are almost all living in roommate households, because they can’t afford the high rents living on their own. One roommate losing a job disrupts the ability to pay rent for the whole household,” he said. “Plus, many younger renters just out on their own have tended to move back in with their parents in previous recessions.”
And Willett doesn’t expect a widespread local retreat to the suburbs...
