Tiny houses, big dreams

Tiny-house village takes shape in downtown Lake Dallas

A rendering of the Lake Dallas tiny-home village.

Photo by Lewis Gonzales

What is billed as the first project of its kind in the U.S. — a downtown village of tiny houses — is taking shape in the Denton County suburb of Lake Dallas.

As early as this June, 13 tiny homes are expected to pop up in downtown Lake Dallas, which is about 30 miles north of downtown Dallas.

The Lake Dallas City Council approved the tiny-home village last October. The project has proven so popular that 70 people already are on a waiting list for lots, each of which will measure roughly 800 to 1,000 square feet.

“Lake Dallas made a big step in being the first city to allow a tiny-home community within the city limits,” says local resident Terry Lantrip, the project’s developer. “The Lake Dallas Tiny Home Village will bring quite a bit of visibility to the city and shows that we’re very open to development.”

Each lot at the Lake Dallas Tiny Home Village will rent for $500 to $550 a month, including hookups for water, sewer service and electricity, and will accommodate a tiny home ranging from 100 to 400 square feet — no bigger than a modest hotel suite. Lot leases will be renewed every 12 months.

A resident of the village must buy his or her own tiny home, which has to be on wheels, and set it up on a lot. The cost of a tiny home varies widely; the median price is around $60,000, but a tiny home can be had for less than $20,000.

Village amenities will include a self-service laundry facility, storage buildings, a public lawn, a community garden, picnic areas, and outdoor furniture.

The second phase of the project will involve renovating a more than 100-year-old house on the property as a community center, Lantrip says. Next door to the village, Lantrip plans to build a 14-unit bungalow community that would share the community center.

City officials say the tiny-home village will be a welcome addition to downtown Lake Dallas. The community has nearly 8,000 residents.

“Tiny-house people tend to be well-educated, employed, with disposable income. They can help bolster downtown businesses,” City Manager John Cabrales Jr. told the Next City blog.

In a community survey taken in 2017, residents were asked what their first mental image is regarding Lake Dallas. Just 10 percent cited the downtown district. Nearby Lake Lewisville was the No. 1 response, but other top responses included residential neighborhoods, development along Interstate 35E, trailer parks, liquor stores, run-down businesses, and bad roads.

In another part of the survey, local residents overwhelmingly named the downtown district as the No. 1 priority for redevelopment in Lake Dallas. However, just 8 percent of people living there said residential development was what’s needed to make downtown Lake Dallas more vibrant.

“Progress and prosperity passed up Lake Dallas long ago. Most businesses moved to more populated thoroughfares, and past city leadership seemed to focus on more industrial uses in our community. There were so many opportunities lost due to a lack of vision for the city,” Lantrip says.

“Lake Dallas is now trying to rebuild itself,” he adds, “and will have to rebrand itself as a good place to live, develop, and bring businesses.”

urban-renewal

living single

Dallas lands among 10 most affordable U.S. metros for living alone

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In DFW, renters can afford to live solo.

Not everyone is cut out for living with roommates, but finding an affordable place to live alone can be tricky. Luckily, Dallas-Fort Worth sits among the top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for living by yourself, according to a new report.

Analysts at Apartments.com discovered North Texas renters spend the seventh lowest share of their monthly income on single-bedroom rent out of the 50 biggest metros in the U.S.

The study used a 30 percent "common budgeting guideline" to calculate the share of median renter household income spent on one-bedroom asking rents across the 50 largest U.S. metros, and determined renters can only afford to live alone in 24 of the 50 metros without crossing the 30 percent threshold.

The median annual income of a DFW renter household is $63,172, and the findings show the typical asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment comes out to $1,348 per month. The study determined single renters spend 25.6 percent of their monthly income on rent based on the budgeting suggestion.

Texas' favorable rental market also extends outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex: Austin surprised as the No. 1 most affordable metro for living alone, and San Antonio appeared among the top 10.

Austin renters spend the smallest share of their income on single-bedroom apartment rent, at 23.1 percent. That's based on a median renter household income of $70,008 and a $1,348 monthly one-bedroom asking rent price.

Dwindling rent prices and the prevalence of major tech employers are also attracting new renters, and the city has an 11.6 percent apartment vacancy rate.

"The average rent in Austin has decreased year over year, and construction of new housing increased by 30 percent over the past decade," the report's author wrote. "Tax incentives in Texas draw large tech corporations, like Google and Apple, to the Austin area, which has increased average wages, added more jobs to the local economy, and attracted renters in the process."

San Antonio ranked right above DFW in sixth place nationwide with solo renters spending 25.4 percent of their monthly income on single-bedroom rent, coincidentally the same share as single renters living in Raleigh, North Carolina and Salt Lake City, Utah.

This is the income and one-bedroom rent data in San Antonio:

$51,029 – median renter household income
$1,082 – one-bedroom monthly asking rent

A separate Apartments.com survey found 39 percent of U.S. adults would never feel comfortable living with a roommate, and 16 percent of renters would rather pay more in rent to live alone than consider living with a roommate.

"Factors contributing to lower rents may include recent high levels of construction, rising vacancy rates as renter demand catches up to supply, and fewer regulations, such as flexible zoning and lower development costs compared to other parts of the country," the report said. "Living alone has become a non-negotiable for many renters, and some renters are willing to make tradeoffs to afford this lifestyle."

The top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for living alone are:

No. 1 – Austin
No. 2 – Oklahoma City
No. 3 – Phoenix
No. 4 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 5 – Salt Lake City, Utah
No. 6 – San Antonio
No. 7 – Dallas-Fort Worth
No. 8 – Denver
No. 9 – Portland, Oregon
No. 10 – Columbus, Ohio

real estate rent rent prices apartments affordability reports