Current Conditions

Occupancy Rates

• The occupancy rate for Tarrant County for rental units was 95.3% in 2018. (Fort Worth Business Press “Tarrant County Multifamily Overview and Outlook for 2019” January 25, 2019)

Rental Rates

• According to real estate services company Cushman & Wakefield, rents in DFW have skyrocketed 27.3% over the past five years, trailing only Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, D.C., for growth in rental rates. (Dallas.CultureMap.com, “Dallas-Fort Worth sees suburban spike in apartment rents, reports show” June 5, 2019)
• As of March 2019, the average rental rates in Tarrant County were:
  
  

(RentHop.com, Rental Rates and Trends, March 2019)

New Developments

• “Since 2010, 16,460 apartment units have been built in the Fort Worth area… But only 4 percent of these new units — a lowly 710 apartments — are now priced below the area’s average rent price of $1,093 per month.” (Fort Worth Star Telegram, “Lots of apartments are being built in Fort Worth, but are you rich enough to rent one?” June 4, 2018)

Property Taxes

• Tarrant County has one of the highest median property taxes in the United States, and is ranked 139th of the 3143 counties in order of median property taxes. (Tax-Rates.org)
• Tarrant County collects, on average, 2.37% of a property’s assessed fair market value as property tax and this tax is passed on from landlord to tenant, so even the cost of existing, non-luxury apartments is rising.

Wages

• Since 2011, wages have increased about 9% in Tarrant County (Bureau of Labor and Statistics)

Doing the Math

• Renters should spend no more than 30% of their income for the rent to be considered “affordable.”
• When housing costs are more than 30% of income, the household is considered “housing burdened.”
• To afford a one bedroom apartment and not be rent burdened, a person in Tarrant County must earn a MINIMUM of $20/hour at a full time job.

DFW Metro Area Housing Gap

Extremely Low Income Households and Available Rentals

• Extremely Low Income Renter Households: 196,950
• Affordable and Available Rental Units: 39,474

Surplus (Deficit) of Affordable and Available Rental Units

• At or Below Extremely Low Income: (157,476)
• At or Below 50% Ami: (181,978)
  (National Low Income Housing Coalition, “The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Rental Homes” https://reports.nlihc.org/gap)

Financial Gap

• “Inability to pay rent” is the #1 answer people experiencing homelessness gave as the reason for their situation during the 2019 Tarrant County Homeless Coalition’s Point-In-Time count.

Assistance Gap

• Federal HUD dollars provide vouchers to assist with rent.
• Fort Worth Housing Solutions currently holds 5,104 vouchers.
• As of June 13, 2019, 4,692 households are using vouchers, leaving just 412 vouchers available.
• The wait list to receive a voucher currently includes 4,600+ households.

The Looming Issue

• In April 2018, HUD Secretary Ben Carson proposed “The Making Affordable Housing Work Act” which would require households that receive federal housing assistance to pay 35% of their gross income in rent, up from the current requirement of 30% of adjusted income. Also, it would triple the minimum monthly rent these families must pay — from $50 to $150. (Money.CNN.com, “HUD wants low-income families on housing assistance to pay more rent” April 25, 2018)
• In 2012, researchers found that a $100 increase in monthly rent in big cities was associated with a 15 percent rise in homelessness. The effect was even stronger in smaller cities. (Huffington Post, “Why America Can’t Solve Homelessness” May 19, 2019)
• Research from Berkadia, a Berkshire Hathaway company, found that the lower-middle income bracket, which it qualified as earning $35,000 to $49,999 between 2012 and 2017, has been hit hard, with 6% growth in rent-stressed families during that time period. (Curbed.com, “Hey, middle class, the housing crisis is coming for you next” June 11, 2019)