Dallas shows first signs of apartment building slowdown

​​RICHARDSON – ​​For the 12-month period ending in July, Dallas-area developers filed permits to start just under 19,000 apartments. That’s a 19.8 percent dip from a year earlier, according to data from RealPage.

Despite the decrease, the Metroplex ranks second in multifamily permits, behind only New York. Dallas and Atlanta were the only two top-ten U.S. apartment markets to see a year-over-year decline in building permits.

Apartment analysts have been forecasting a slowdown in North Texas building starts to let the market catch up with several years of dramatic construction. But that doesn’t mean North Texas won’t have plenty of new apartments. Almost 30,000 units are opening their doors in the area this year.

"With around 50,000 units under construction, we’re still going to be delivering lots of apartments for at least another couple years," said RealPage economist Greg Willett.

Rents in Dallas-Fort Worth in July rose less than 3 percent from a year earlier. That’s almost half the recent peaks of annual apartment rent growth in North Texas.