A Five-Year First: Dallas Rent Growth May Surpass Fort Worth’s

DFW’s 2.8% rent growth marks the first time since 2017 where North Texas rent growth outpaces the US norm.

FORT WORTH—The US multifamily market is beginning 2020 in great shape, says Greg Willett, chief economist at RealPage. Peaking in the third quarter, the occupancy rate got as high as 96.3% in 2019, in line with all-time highs.

While late-in-the-year seasonal cooling took the occupancy figure to slightly under 96%, that result is still well above the long-term norm. Demand for some 280,000 market-rate units in the April through September timeframe ranked among the biggest blocks of prime leasing season absorption ever recorded. Annual rent growth held at a healthy level around the 3% mark throughout the year. Class-A product rent growth, which had been lagging earlier, gained momentum to perform in line with the price increases for the class-B and class-C stocks, Willett says.