Dallas’ newest apartments still leasing up at a good pace

The Dallas apartment market has been keeping steady. Although overall occupancy has declined slightly and concessions have increased depending on location, asset quality, and pricing – the market is generally stable.
Leasing for apartments delivered since the start of 2019 is continuing at a good pace. Occupancy in these units range from 72% in the urban core to 52% in the northern suburbs.
Likewise, effective rents remain solid, with few assets offering deep inducements to drive leasing.
Still, only a handful of projects are nearing stabilization (+90% occupancy). The urban core is leading with 5 properties, 45% of its recent deliveries. This is likely due to the smaller current development pipeline. The northern suburbs and Las Colinas each have only 2 properties at +90% occupancy.
Leasing velocity is key. Ideally, a project should stabilize in a year to minimize rollover that competes with initial lease-up. A few years ago, 20-25+ units per month was common in Dallas.
Currently, the average pace has declined to 17 units per month in the most active submarkets. While this is a good pace during our economic downturn, it suggests that stabilization will take longer to achieve, and even modest concessions may take longer to burn-off completely.