NexPoint Residential Trust Inc (NXRT)

[Enterprising Investor]

Dallas sets record for average monthly rate (7/22/16)

By Steve Brown

Dallas-area apartment renters can't catch a break.

They are on average paying about $60 a month more than they were a year ago and there is no sign of a rent slowdown.

Apartment analyst Axiometrics says that average Dallas-area rents in June were $1,129 - an all time high.

That represents a 5.5 percent rent hike from June 2015.

"Dallas rent growth has been 5 percent or higher for 20 straight months," Axiometrics said.

The cost of renting a roof over your head is a little lower in the Fort Worth area, averaging $1,011 in June.

But Fort Worth apartment rents are rising faster - up 6.9 percent from a year ago, according to Axiometrics.

Even with huge construction volumes, few apartments are vacant in North Texas.

At midyear Dallas-Fort Worth-area apartments were 95.7 percent occupied.

More than 50,000 apartments are now being built in North Texas - the largest construction volume in more than 30 years.

Axiometrics is forecasting that D-FW apartment rents will continue to rise - up by more than 3 percent in the next year on top of recent increases.

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/headlines/20160722-info-for-your-next-rent-rant-dallas-sets-record-for-average-monthly-rate.ece