With the pandemic translating to a work-from-home shift for countless companies, the suburbs have a new-found appeal for renters with their abundance of space, larger apartments and homes and often lower rents compared to big cities.
With thousands of new suburban apartments opening in recent years, renters have many popular locations from which to choose. And if work-from-home becomes the new normal, a significant reversal of recent homebuilding patterns may emerge, according to a housing study by Harvard University.
With this in mind, Yardi Matrix analyzed apartment construction data in more than 1,300 suburbs across the nation to determine which suburbs offer the most renter options. The Yardi Matrix data analyzed large-scale apartment buildings of 50 units or more in search of suburban areas that have the most plentiful developments.
In that quest, the South came out on top. And, some suburbs are better equipped than others to meet the potential change to suburban living. Suburban Texas is a great example, claiming more than a third of the national list.
Out of the top 20 suburbs with the most new apartments delivered since 2016, eight are in Texas, with the Dallas metro accounting for the majority of suburban deliveries. With more than 8,000 new units, Frisco, TX is the suburb with the highest number of apartments built in the last five years. McKinney, TX came in second with 4,800 new apartments, followed closely by Chandler, AZ and Spring Valley, NV.
Many of these locations are viable options for those considering suburban moves because of their proximity to the core cities. In fact, 12 out of the 20 suburbs on the Yardi list are located no more than 20 miles from an urban center.
Top 10 Suburbs:
- Frisco, TX Dallas metro 8,044 new apartments
- McKinney, TX Dallas metro 4,843 new apartments
- Chandler, AZ Phoenix metro 4,805 new apartments
- Spring Valley, NV Las Vegas metro 4,559 new apartments
- Farmers Branch, TX Dallas metro 3,788 new apartments
- Spring, TX Houston metro 3,775 new apartments
- Grand Prairie, TX Dallas metro 3,308 new apartments
- King of Prussia, PA Philadelphia metro 3,030 new apartments
- Garland, TX Dallas metro 2,865 new apartments
- Tysons, VA Washington, DC metro 2,562 new apartments
Drilling down to the top two markets in the DFW metro, the suburb with the highest number of apartments built in the last five years is Frisco, TX. With 8,044 new apartments spread across 25 apartment buildings, this fast-growing city in the Dallas metro area has recently built a significant share of new rentals, most of which are garden-style apartment complexes. Frisco is located just 28 miles from Dallas and has a population of 200,513.
Also located in the Dallas metro area, McKinney comes in second for the most apartment construction in the last half-decade. Some 4,843 new apartments in 19 buildings of one to three stories, divided mostly into garden-type communities, were built in the last five years. McKinney’s population rivals Frisco’s at 199,174.
And amid this movement from urban areas to the suburbs, apartment developers are increasingly taking notice, according to Steve Hallsey, executive vice president of operations for Wood Residential Service. He says the pandemic has changed many aspects of Wood’s business including the way the firm is underwriting.
“And that’s why I think there is going to be an interesting pivot to more suburban assets,” Hallsey predicts.
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