renting in the big city

DFW nearly tops list of cities building most new homes for rent

Dallas is building more single-family rental homes than nearly every other U.S. city.

A new rental report has revealed Texas is leading the nation with the highest single-family home rental construction growth, and Dallas-Fort Worth nearly topped the list of metros building the most new homes for rent.

The analysis from rental listings website Point2Homes examined construction rates and building permit data for single-family homes that are "located in build-to-rent, professionally managed communities" across America. For the purpose of the study, build-to-rent homes are defined as units that don't share any walls with other homes, and includes those that have shared walls but do not have neighbors above or below or have a direct-access garage.

According to the report's findings, Dallas' rental home construction rate is the 5th highest in the nation, and the metro area is expected to build 8,470 new single-family homes for rent in 2025.

The greatest share of rental homes – 1,816 units – are being built in neighboring Fort Worth, while Dallas proper is only expecting to build 64 new rental homes.

This is how many build-to-rent homes are being built across other DFW-area cities:

1,293 units – McKinney
876 units – Denton
696 units – Melissa
635 units – Anna
543 units – Garland
537 units – Celina
408 units – Princeton
251 units – Lavon
204 units – Ferris
200 units – Weatherford
176 units – Crandall
168 units – Crowley
166 units – Saginaw
134 units – Aubrey
96 units – Forney
85 units – Addison
65 units – Arlington
57 units – Red Oak

The report says Fort Worth will become the new hometown for one of the largest single-family rental communities, Living Fully Orchard Farms, which will develop 643 new construction homes. But Dallas-area rental communities aren't far behind.

"The second and third largest communities currently under construction in the Dallas metro are in Princeton and Melissa: Oxenfree at Princeton and Wolf Creek Farms will add 408 and 343 units, respectively," the report said.

Build-to-rent growth rates in Texas
Dallas' rental home construction helps make up the total 21,812 units that are planned or currently being built in Texas this year.

The report claims Texas' healthy job market, remote work flexibility, and its business-friendliness are the top reasons why the build-to-rent growth has soared so high.

Doug Ressler, senior analyst and manager of business intelligence at Yardi Matrix (Point2Homes' sister company), says affordability is another major factor.

"The biggest hurdle to buying a home for [build-to-rent] BTR residents is high mortgage rates, so BTR homes provide an affordability solution in today’s increasingly expensive housing market," Ressler says. "On average, renting a BTR unit is cheaper than buying a starter home. Recent reports indicate that renting can save one around $1,000 per month compared to buying. This is largely due to high mortgage rates and elevated home prices."

Ressler adds that the target markets – Millennials and Gen Z – are increasingly interested in new single-family home rentals to avoid the hurdle of paying high property taxes while still managing other debts like student loans. This also allows them to remain close to the city in a nearby suburb, rather than in rural areas.

"As urban areas become more congested and expensive, there’s a growing trend towards suburban living," Ressler said. "BTR properties in suburban areas offer more space and affordability while maintaining connectivity to urban centers."

Other Texas metros
Texas cities dominated the top 10 U.S. metros with the greatest build-to-rent growth rates. Houston ranked No. 5 nationally with 4,613 new homes being built for rent in the metro.

Meanwhile, Austin and San Antonio ranked No. 6 and No. 8 respectively. Austin currently has 4,313 new single-family rental homes in the pipeline in 2025, while San Antonio is expected to build 2,994 units.

Phoenix, Arizona topped the nation with the No. 1 highest new rental home construction rate. The Valley of the Sun is expected to complete 13,113 build-to-rent homes in 2025.

The top 10 U.S. metros building the most new rental homes in 2025 are:

No. 1 – Phoenix, Arizona
No. 2 – Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
No. 3 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 4 – Charlotte, North Carolina
No. 5 – Houston, Texas
No. 6 – Austin, Texas
No. 7 – Orlando, Florida
No. 8 – San Antonio, Texas
No. 9 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 10 – Huntsville, Alabama

rentals construction real estate houston

Hottest Headlines of 2025

Popular suburbs move into Dallas' hottest real estate headlines of 2025

Photo courtesy of City of McKinney

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Editor's note: As the year comes to a close, we look back at the 10 most-read real estate stories in Dallas for 2025 — including new honors for several local suburbs, market trends, and all-important Walmart news. These are the 10 hottest real estate headlines of 2025 in Dallas:

1. Dallas-Fort Worth suburb blooms as No. 1 best place to live in U.S. One Dallas-area city took the top slot on a list of "the 100 Best Places to Live in 2025." The list — from relocation marketing platform Livability.com — put Flower Mound at No. 1 for its appealing size and affordability. The suburb also claimed the No. 7 spot in a ranking of America's most livable small cities.

2. North Dallas neighbor ranks as No. 1 most affordable city in U.S. A Dallas suburb landed on top of a list of the most affordable places to live: McKinney ranked No. 1 based on its relative cost of living and high median household income.

3. Massive mixed-use development coming to key intersection in McKinney. McKinney is getting a new $1.3 billion mixed-use development. Called Long Branch, it will be a 155-acre project at the northwest corner of US-75 and the future 380 bypass, consisting of housing, retail, office, grocery, and hospitality. The development has 80 acres slated for active development, and will unfold over the next decade in four tracts.

4. Dallas-area suburb ranks as 3rd best place to live in Texas in 2025. The Dallas-Fort Worth mid-city of Coppell has been ranked the third best place to live in Texas in 2025 by rankings and review website Niche.com. The survey determined the best places to live in based on crime rates, public school rankings, the local cost of living, job opportunities, and more using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the FBI, and others.

Coppell, Dallas suburb Coppell was ranked the third-best place to live in Texas for 2025. City of Coppell, TX Municipal Government/Facebook

5. 11 Dallas suburbs soar as fastest-growing U.S. cities in last decade. It's no secret that Dallas-Fort Worth's population is growing faster than most other metros in the U.S., but now several surprising Dallas neighbors have been named among the top 10 fastest-growing suburb nationwide over the last decade. Celina nearly led the nation with an astonishing 314 percent increase in population from 2014 to 2023, according to a growth study by marketplace platform StorageCafe.

6. Dallas neighbor is the No. 1 fastest-growing affordable city in U.S. A national study has declared Texas is home to the most affordable, fast-growing cities in the country, with Dallas suburb Frisco taking the lead at No. 1. Frisco and five more Dallas neighbors ranked high on GoBankingRates.com's list of "50 Most Affordable, Fastest-Growing Cities in 2025."

$Millennials moved to Texas more than any other state in 2019, with Frisco being\na top choice.$ Frisco is the most-affordable, fastest-growing city in the country. Photo by Roger Robinson/Visit Frisco

7. Dallas neighbor beckons movers as top U.S. suburb with small-town feel. Wylie, a city less than 30 miles from downtown Dallas, ranked as the No. 7 most highly sought-after U.S. suburb of 2025 in MoveBuddha's national survey. In addition to being recognized as the 7th most desirable American suburb, Wylie also ranked as the second-most desirable suburb to move to in Texas.

8. 2 Dallas neighbors rank among fastest-growing wealthy suburbs in U.S. Celina and Prosper, two boomtowns north of Dallas, are among the top three fastest growing affluent suburbs in the country. The cities' affluent status was unveiled in a GoBankingRates' study ranking the "30 Fastest-Growing Wealthy Suburbs in America" for 2025.

The Old Celina Park in Celina, Texas Celina is the No. 2 fastest-growing wealthy 'burb in America. Photo courtesy of celina-tx.gov

9. 6 Dallas suburbs make top 10 list of best Texas cities to move to. Advisors at ConsumerAffairs, a customer review and news platform, ranked the 50 most populated Texas cities across five main categories — affordability, safety, economy, health care and education, and quality of life — to determine which were the best places to move to. Each city was given a score out of 100 possible points. Four of the top five best places to move to in Texas are located in Dallas-Fort Worth: Allen (No .1), Frisco (No. 2), Plano (No. 3), and McKinney (No. 4). Two more DFW suburbs, Mansfield (No. 6) and Richardson (No. 10), rounded out the top 10.

10. Booming Celina hits the big time with its first Walmart Supercenter. The city of Celina is getting its first mega Walmart: According to a release, it will be a Walmart Supercenter located at the northwest corner of Preston Road (Highway 289) and the West Outer Loop. The store has been in the works for a few years, but the Celina Economic Development Corporation celebrated the opening in a groundbreaking on April 16.