Rental Rumblings

Dallas-area apartments look like New York without the insane rent

Farmers Branch is undergoing a bit of a renaissance, and one example of the upgrade is an apartment community that feels more like New York than suburbia: The Brickyard, a project from the Billingsley Company.

Located at 2061 Wittington Pl., in Mercer Crossing, The Brickyard will have features that evoke NYC neighborhoods: brick detail, metal-framed windows, metal awnings, large arched windows, and walk-up style housing. Everything, that is, except the price — and the noise.

In Manhattan, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the Lower East Side is $3,558, according to the First Quarter 2016 Citi Habitats market report. This is roughly equal to the entire monthly income of the typical U.S. worker.

Current pricing for The Brickyard ranges from $995 to $1,910 per month.

“As a former resident of New York, I wanted to bring the rich neighborhood feel of the West Village and the Bowery to Dallas, but at a price that was right for us,” says Summer Billingsley, a managing partner on The Brickyard project. “I have been told that ‘quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.’ So our sole focus is to deliver a fantastic product, and [I’ll be] damned if I am not going to deliver it at a great price.”

The Brickyard offers 19 different floor plans, with 314 one bedrooms and 87 two bedrooms ranging from 584 to 1,324 square feet per unit. Amenities include granite countertops in the kitchens and bathrooms, full-size stackable washer and dryers, oversized soaking tubs with tile surrounds in select units, energy-efficient GE appliances, a 24-hour fitness center, and a parking garage with electric car charging outlets.

There are also grilling stations and hammocks in the courtyards and parks, named Gramercy Garden and Mulberry Park. Coming in August are an Ozone-filtered pool with a reclaimed industrial cabana, sunning islands, and loungers.

The Brickyard started accepting tenants in May. It is just one phase of construction planned for Mercer Crossing, which has been approved for up to 1,200 units.

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A version of this story originally was published on Candy's Dirt.

The Brickyard is a New York-inspired community of one- and two-bedroom apartments in Farmers Branch.

The Brickyard apartment community in Farmers Branch

The Brickyard/Facebook

The Brickyard is a New York-inspired community of one- and two-bedroom apartments in Farmers Branch.

rent

bang for your buck

These are the 10 most affordable ZIP codes for Dallas-area renters

Photo by Jenifer McNeil Baker for Greystar

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Buying a home in Dallas is difficult enough to afford these days, and doubly so if you're already paying high rent on an apartment or a house. But there are 10 Dallas-Fort Worth ZIP codes where renters can get the most bang for their buck, according to a new study by financial services company CashNetUSA.

To find the most affordable ZIP codes to rent in the U.S., analysts compared median household incomes by ZIP code to the average annual rent costs using the Zillow Observed Rent Index. ZIP codes where the average annual rental costs required the lowest percentage of median household income were considered the "most affordable."

Two Dallas suburbs and their ZIP codes specifically stood out in CashNetUSA's ranking of the most affordable ZIPs for renters across the Metroplex: 75013 in Allen (No. 1) and 75033 in Frisco (No. 2).

According to the study's findings, the average monthly cost of a rental in Allen comes out to $1,716.45, and the median annual income of an Allen household is $145,220. Analysts then calculated that the annual rent of a home in the Allen ZIP code only takes up 14.18 percent of a household's median income, which is the No. 1 lowest in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Allen was recently named one of the best small cities to live in, with a scorching hot real estate market to match its thriving popularity and growth.

In Frisco's 75033 ZIP, annual rent costs only represent 14.89 percent of a household's median annual income. The area – which encompasses the Meadow Hill Estates, Preston Highlands North, Christie Ranch, Newman Village, Shaddock Creek Estates, and Collin neighborhoods – has a median household income of $149,525, and average rent costs add up to $1,855.49, according to the study.

Meanwhile, Dallas' own 75214 ZIP code ranked No. 8 in the metro-wide ranking of most affordable ZIPs for renters. This area consists of several established Dallas neighborhoods, including Northeast Dallas, Wilshire Heights, Lakewood, Lakewood Hills, Junius Heights, and Munger Place.

The median annual income for a household in 75214 comes out to $104,583, and the average rental costs $1,669.40 per month. That means annual rent payments account for 19.15 percent of a household's median income, according to the study.

The seven other ZIPs that make up the top 10 most affordable ZIP codes for renters in Dallas-Fort Worth include:

No. 3 – 76248 in Keller
No. 4 – 76085 in Weatherford
No. 5 – 76262 in Roanoke
No. 6 – 75078 in Prosper
No. 7 – 75048 in Sachse
No. 9 – 75077 in Highland Village
No. 10 – 75093 in Plano

Top ZIP codes for renters in the U.S.
CashNetUSA found the No. 1 most affordable ZIP code for renters nationwide is 66224 in Leawood, Kansas, where annual rent only takes a 10.57 percent cut out of a household's median annual income.

Elsewhere in Texas, San Antonio's 78248 ZIP ranked as the No. 4 most affordable ZIP code for renters in the U.S., and the No. 1 most affordable ZIP code statewide.

Two Houston-area ZIP codes – 77401 and 77094 – ranked No. 9 and No. 12 nationally, while Allen's 75013 ZIP code fell two spots behind to claim the No. 14 spot.

frisco suburbs zip codes rent