DFW Apartment Rents Hold Steady As Landlords Lean On Concessions

Occupancy and rental rates held firm in Dallas-Fort Worth in October as landlords relied more heavily on concessions to attract tenants, new data from ApartmentData.com shows.

The average Metroplex apartment rent hovered at $1,166 per month for roughly 877 SF in October, with occupancy remaining just above the 90% level at 91.2%, the research firm reported. 

Rental rates remained steady year-over-year despite the pandemic — the average apartment rent recorded in October 2019 was $1,158 per unit, according to ApartmentData.com.

The October 2020 data shows rather than rental rate declines, apartment operators in every product type leaned more heavily on concessions to attract renters. 

Across the Metroplex, 312,980 apartment units, or 41% of all inventory, offered concessions last month either in the form of move-in specials, months of free rent or floor-plan offers from operators. About 60% of all Class-A inventory, or 139,000 units, came with concessions last month, followed by 38% and 33% of Class-B and Class-C inventory, respectively. 

Concessions have grown substantially since last year when about 224,000 units in DFW offered concessions (or roughly 31% of all inventory) and only 49% of Class-A spaces offered concessions to renters. 

Concession activity also has grown in the Class-B and Class-C spaces from last year, when the asset classes only recorded concessions on 27% and 23% of all inventory leased in those sectors, ApartmentData.com reported.