It stands to reason. Apartments in urban areas have limited growth space. In the suburbs, you get a bit more elbow room.
The data crunchers at RENTCafé dove a little deeper into apartment size issues in a recent study, confirming that apartments under construction in Dallas and Fort Worth are getting smaller while new-build apartments in suburbs such as McKinney, Lewisville, and Irving are getting larger.
RENTCafé analyzed construction data for projects completed between 2010 and 2020 and compared it with projects under construction as of May 2021.
Out of 92 cities analyzed, 36 percent have larger apartments now than 5 years ago, Yardi Matrix data reveals.
But why? Three words: work from home.
“Full- or part-time work-from-home is here to stay for the foreseeable future, compelling many people to make room in their homes for a more permanent workspace,” writes Florentina Sarac, a RENTCafé researcher.
“The need for more space is particularly crucial in apartments, where there isn’t typically much space to spare to begin with. Fortunately, apartment developers are noticing this rising need and their response is already reflected in current projects that are under construction.”
Doug Ressler, manager of business intelligence at Yardi Matrix, echoed the sentiment.
“The pandemic and work-from-home has made people more conscious of the space in which they live and work,” Ressler said. “The pandemic has significantly accelerated issues on designers’ minds well before 2020. These issues involve the rise of the home as a workspace, and a deeper emphasis on health and well-being.”
New apartments in the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, however, are getting smaller. Dallas apartments under construction this year are 17 square feet smaller than the 2016-2020 average of 913 square feet. Fort Worth apartments have decreased by 36 square feet from an average of 922.
It’s a different story in the ‘burbs:
- McKinney is one of the few cities to make a U-turn when it comes to the size of new apartments. Current projects point to an average apartment size of 1,015 square feet, 98 square feet larger than in the past five years. The space equates to almost a 10- x 10-feet home office.
- Lewisville also upsized, adding 15 additional square feet to its 887-square-foot average in the past five years.
- McKinney is also the eighth city in the U.S. by the increase in the size of new apartments compared to five years ago.
- Irving apartments are 27 square feet larger than five years ago.
Statewide, you can get 182 additional square feet — a whole new room — on new apartment builds in Midland. On the other hand, Austin’s new apartments are 79 square feet smaller, ahead of Farmers Branch, which lost an average of 67 square feet.
The state was also ranked as one of the best for teleworkers, according to a recent study, so renters working from home can look forward to finding larger apartments available in the near future.
