Families vs Singles in Apartment construction in DFW
Posted: 16 Feb 2020 14:04
I wanted to stir up some conversation here in an area some of us here in the forum may or may not have experience in. As someone who works in the Apartment rental field one thing I am noticing a lot is the lack of 3 bedrooms on the market. I have had to turn down lots of families moving to Dallas from other cities that need multi-bedroom units because they have kids and there just aren't any available. The ones they do seem to get built get absorbed rather quickly by singles looking to cut costs and do roommate setups.
Is there a part of the market not being served in the city?
I know we talk on this forum about urban Dallas apartments being mostly singles and couples but then they move to the burbs for the schools but it seems like maybe schools arent the only problem. It seems like residential properties in the more walkable inner city just arent targeting families needing at least a place to stay for at least a year.
Is a townhome rental the only thing meant for these kinds of customers?
Most of these families are relocating for jobs and buying a home isn't an option. Many come from cities where families living in rental apartments are the norm.
Also, the standard list of amenities is always single or young childless couple oriented with a few small outliers here and there. Business Center, Resident Lounge, Dog Park, Pool perfect for BBQs with other friends of the same age but rarely anything that would truly appeal to families.
Garden style apartment projects out in the burbs have an easier time throwing in kid-oriented features cause they excessive open land but is it impossible to build dense residential projects that can also appeal to more than the 25 yr beginning his career fresh out of engineering or business school?
We talk about how crazy these rents are but for families with more mature incomes, it's not as insane as it is for a college kid starting out.
Def seems like developers are avoiding that part of the market which if I give them the benefit of the doubt I would assume it's just not a big enough market to cater to. It just seems like there is enough traffic that some developer could make a decent splash chasing a previously avoided segment in the inner city.
I have talked to locators and they are always dreading getting a client looking for a 3 bedroom cause no one has any.
Also, keep in mind it's possible they are avoiding multi-bedroom units cause of the potential for noise, behavior and likely profit from a multi vs having more single bedroom units. Fair Housing Law means I can't just refuse access to some college kids looking to cut costs by living together just so a family can get a unit. So it's not like an apartment property can just decide to rent to families but it seems like this is merely a design problem. If a building was designed with features and floorplans that are attractive to families does that also mean all 1 bedrooms will be unleased cause singles don't want to live with kids around?
Feel free to provide lots of perspectives I am sure there are angles I haven't even thought of.
Is there a part of the market not being served in the city?
I know we talk on this forum about urban Dallas apartments being mostly singles and couples but then they move to the burbs for the schools but it seems like maybe schools arent the only problem. It seems like residential properties in the more walkable inner city just arent targeting families needing at least a place to stay for at least a year.
Is a townhome rental the only thing meant for these kinds of customers?
Most of these families are relocating for jobs and buying a home isn't an option. Many come from cities where families living in rental apartments are the norm.
Also, the standard list of amenities is always single or young childless couple oriented with a few small outliers here and there. Business Center, Resident Lounge, Dog Park, Pool perfect for BBQs with other friends of the same age but rarely anything that would truly appeal to families.
Garden style apartment projects out in the burbs have an easier time throwing in kid-oriented features cause they excessive open land but is it impossible to build dense residential projects that can also appeal to more than the 25 yr beginning his career fresh out of engineering or business school?
We talk about how crazy these rents are but for families with more mature incomes, it's not as insane as it is for a college kid starting out.
Def seems like developers are avoiding that part of the market which if I give them the benefit of the doubt I would assume it's just not a big enough market to cater to. It just seems like there is enough traffic that some developer could make a decent splash chasing a previously avoided segment in the inner city.
I have talked to locators and they are always dreading getting a client looking for a 3 bedroom cause no one has any.
Also, keep in mind it's possible they are avoiding multi-bedroom units cause of the potential for noise, behavior and likely profit from a multi vs having more single bedroom units. Fair Housing Law means I can't just refuse access to some college kids looking to cut costs by living together just so a family can get a unit. So it's not like an apartment property can just decide to rent to families but it seems like this is merely a design problem. If a building was designed with features and floorplans that are attractive to families does that also mean all 1 bedrooms will be unleased cause singles don't want to live with kids around?
Feel free to provide lots of perspectives I am sure there are angles I haven't even thought of.