Smallest D-FW Apartments See Biggest Boost in Rents: Study

Over the last 10 years, the least expensive apartment category — the efficiency/studio — has seen the greatest jump in price in North Texas, soaring by nearly 80 percent, a new report found.That's an indication of developer interest in building larger apartment units but only adds to the woes of consumers, especially recent college graduates, who need entry-level housing.In late 2008, near the beginning of the most recent economic meltdown, an efficiency apartment in the Dallas area went for an average of $481 a month and measured 476 square feet, according to ApartmentData.com.Fast-forward to late 2018. The average efficiency rent had ballooned to $863 a month for a unit that's about 511 square feet, ApartmentData.com figures show.The gain in size is 7.4 percent. The jump in price is 79.4 percent, a hike that can be blamed in part on the size of the market for efficiency units.There were nearly 714,000 apartments of all sizes in North Texas in November, according to ApartmentData.com. Of those, only 18,908, or about 2.6 percent, were efficiencies.  Continue reading...