Sticker shock

Apartment rents increase dramatically in 2 Dallas-Fort Worth cities

Dallas’ median two-bedroom rent is below the national average.

Photo courtesy of Abodo

Across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, apartment rents are going up, with Arlington and Mesquite seeing price hikes of least 5 percent from 2017 to 2018, a new report shows.

Meanwhile, Plano had the highest DFW apartment rents in March, whereas Dallas had the lowest, according to the report, released by rental marketplace Apartment List.

Of the 10 major DFW cities tracked by Apartment List, only McKinney experienced a decline (0.3 percent) in apartment rents from March 2017 to March 2018.

As apartment rents climb in DFW, thousands of apartments are under construction, which likely will lead to more competitive pricing.

In March, The Washington Post reported that about 38,000 apartments currently are being built in DFW. That’s the second highest number of apartments under construction among U.S. markets, behind only New York City (about 60,000).

“In Dallas and other Sun Belt cities, the job growth is enormous and the cost of living is lower than in D.C. and New York, so more apartments are needed,” Julian Spiker, a market analyst with CoStar Group in Washington, D.C., told the Post.

Here’s a rundown of the rental rates for the 10 DFW markets monitored by Apartment List:

Arlington. Median rent for two-bedroom apartment: $1,200. Increase: 5.4 percent from March 2017 to March 2018.
Mesquite. Median rent for two-bedroom apartment: $1,310. Increase: 5.1 percent from March 2017 to March 2018.
Carrollton. Median rent for two-bedroom apartment: $1,080. Increase: 3.2 percent from March 2017 to March 2018.
Garland. Median rent for two-bedroom apartment: $1,220. Increase: 2.9 percent from March 2017 to March 2018.
Irving. Median rent for two-bedroom apartment: $1,190. Increase: 2.9 percent from March 2017 to March 2018.
Plano. Median rent for two-bedroom apartment: $1,410. Increase: 2.3 percent from March 2017 to March 2018.
Grand Prairie. Median rent for two-bedroom apartment: $1,220. Increase: 2.1 percent from March 2017 to March 2018.
Fort Worth. Median rent for two-bedroom apartment: $1,120. Increase: 2.1 percent from March 2017 to March 2018.
Dallas. Median rent for two-bedroom apartment: $1,100. Increase: 1.8 percent from March 2017 to March 2018.
McKinney. Median rent for two-bedroom apartment: $1,380. Decrease: 0.3 percent from March 2017 to March 2018.

“As rents have increased slightly in Dallas, a few similar cities nationwide have also seen rents grow modestly,” Apartment List says. “Dallas is still more affordable than most comparable cities across the country.”

While rents in the city of Dallas rose 1.8 percent from 2017 to 2018, they jumped even more in Houston during the same period — 2.8 percent. Year-over-year rent increases were lower in San Antonio (1.2 percent) and Austin (0.1 percent), according to Apartment List.

Dallas’ median two-bedroom rent of $1,100 is below the national average of $1,170. Nationwide, rents grew 2 percent from 2017 to 2018, slightly more than the 1.8 percent increase in Dallas, Apartment List says.

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Texas cruises to middle of 2026 ranking of best states for drivers

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Texas lands right in the middle as the 26th best state for drivers

Texas residents love to debate which cities have the best — and worst — drivers in our own state, but which states boast the best conditions for drivers overall? As it turns out, Texas is only average.

SmartAsset's new study "Best and Worst States for Drivers" ranked states based on auto insurance premiums as a share of annual household income, the price of a 15-gallon tank of gas as a share of weekly household income, traffic fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, and the share of interstate highway pavement rated "good."

Texas ties with Colorado as the 26th best state for drivers. Massachusetts tops the list.

According to the report's findings, 65 percent of Texas' interstate highways are in "good condition," and there are about 1.2 auto fatalities per 100 million miles traveled in the state.

Additionally, the cost of a 15-gallon tank of gas in Texas represents 3.47 percent of a resident's median weekly income, and insurance premiums eat up 2.05 percent of earnings, the study calculated.

Considering how much gas prices have soared over the last several months, commuting to work or driving around town is taking a bigger chunk out of Texas residents' wallets than it was before. At least Dallasites have DART to get around the city, and shuttle services like Shutto or Vonlane for traveling to other Texas cities.

"Between loan payments, maintenance, fuel and auto insurance, the cost of owning and operating a vehicle now averages more than $11,000 per year," the report said. "Even as U.S. cities and counties increase investment in public transportation, more than 90% of American households own or lease at least one vehicle."

For comparison, South Dakota has better quality interstate highways than the rest of the nation – at 84 percent – while only 15 percent of Hawaii's highways are in good condition. Rhode Island has the lowest auto fatality rate in the U.S. at 0.5 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, and West Virginia has the highest auto fatality rate at 1.6 deaths.

After Massachusetts, the remaining top 10 best states for drivers are Minnesota (No. 2); New Jersey and North Dakota (tied for No. 3); Utah (No. 5); Connecticut (No. 6); New Hampshire (No. 7); Wisconsin (No. 8); and Indiana and South Dakota (tied for No. 9).

You might want to pump the brakes in the 10 worst states for drivers: Louisiana (No. 50); Mississippi (No. 49); Hawaii and West Virginia (tied for No. 47); Montana (No. 46); Arizona and Oregon (tied for No. 44); Maine (No. 43); New Mexico (No. 42); and Arkansas (No. 41).

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