Families vs Singles in Apartment construction in DFW

cowboyeagle05
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Families vs Singles in Apartment construction in DFW

Postby cowboyeagle05 » 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.
“Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell”

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vman
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Re: Families vs Singles in Apartment construction in DFW

Postby vman » 17 Feb 2020 09:13

Some of the reluctance to build many 3BR apartments may be that single/coupled renters don't want to be around families and/or children. When I rented, I purposely would not lease in a community with 3 bedrooms for that very reason. Even when I purchased my townhome, I searched for a community with only 2 bedroom homes. I am aware that 3 bedroom apartments are needed, but there's a good chance they could drive away another large segment of possible renters.

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joshua.dodd
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Re: Families vs Singles in Apartment construction in DFW

Postby joshua.dodd » 17 Feb 2020 16:58

The problem is actually very unique for the Western world. The Western world is experiencing a birth rate crisis. We simply are not having enough children. This is one of the big reasons why mass immigration has been encouraged in the past several years as a way to "reset" this birth rate trend. I actually find it very strange and even unnerving how so many young adults now don't have children. It is not healthy for a nation.

lakewoodhobo
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Re: Families vs Singles in Apartment construction in DFW

Postby lakewoodhobo » 17 Feb 2020 20:03

I trust the free market to solve that problem. If there were enough demand for 3BR units, the Amlis and the Broadstones of the world will build them because the competition here is brutal, and any disruptor in the MF market will be either rewarded or punished.

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muncien
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Re: Families vs Singles in Apartment construction in DFW

Postby muncien » 18 Feb 2020 09:31

Interestingly enough, I was very surprised to see how FEW three bedroom units were built into Cypress Waters development. I mean, here they are touting a premier school district (Coppell ISD) and the first 'urban' experience available in the area, but with only like six or eight 3br units.
But then, to my surprise, those units (once built) sat for quite some time. I really thought they would get gobbled up in no time, but they didn't. Even I personally was looking to get into them, but once I saw the prices they were asking, I reconsidered. You can rent a house for much less...
So, I think it's a combination of factors... 1. Families want GOOD SCHOOLS, which rules out almost all 'urban' areas. 2. The price of renting a 3br in these HOT lease rates really makes it impractical. There are a considerable number of homes going for lease now... and it just doesn't make sense.
"He doesn't know how to use the three seashells..."

cowboyeagle05
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Re: Families vs Singles in Apartment construction in DFW

Postby cowboyeagle05 » 20 Feb 2020 10:57

That's the funny thing is I keep getting families wanting three bedrooms in Dallas not the burbs, the pricing isn't outrageous for New Yorkers which seems to be the kind of renter I am referring to. These people complain to me about units in the burbs and that they don't want to be next to the latest McDonalds, gas station, Walmart. It may be just what I am getting access to abnormal demand and not the norm. It just seems like two snakes eating their own tales here. Urban housing not reaching for the multibedroom dweller and schools also incapable of producing a quality education in urban locations which in Dallas is funny because our Urban areas are basically movie sets of urbanity.
The truly bad areas of town with the worst problems are more suburban than they are urban. Car based with almost nothing decent accessible by bus, train or walking unless you like walking on skinny treeless sidewalks and giant parking lots. If you want to be in a walkable area that would be compared remotely to urban areas in other cities you would be in West Village, Uptown, Lower Greenville, Oak Lawn, Knox Henderson, Victory Park, State Thomas. South Dallas, for example, is 97% suburban designed and continues to malfunction that way.
“Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell”