An analysis of 44 years of data ranks Dallas fifth, Fort Worth ninth and Plano 33rd in national real estate development, solidifying North Texas as a major hub for growth in the U.S.
According to StorageCafe, the data from 1980 to 2023, shows Dallas alone has added an impressive 237,000 multifamily units, ranking just behind New York, Los Angeles and Houston.
While many cities, especially in housing-scarce California, saw a drop in housing permits after the pandemic, Dallas and Fort Worth went in a different direction. In Dallas, new permits for home construction surged by an average of 42% in the 2020s compared to the previous decade, while Fort Worth saw an even more dramatic increase of 94%.
As Dallas continues its rapid expansion in apartment construction, Fort Worth saw a significant rise in single-family home permits over the past few decades. The city issued 161,000 permits for single-family homes, outpaced only by Phoenix, Houston and Jacksonville. During the same period, Dallas permitted about 83,000 single-family homes.
Dallas also ranked fourth among the nation's top industrial development hubs, having added over 102 million square feet of space in the past 50 years. While industrial space delivery has remained steady, the city set new records in the current decade, averaging more than 3.6 million square feet annually since 2020.
Meanwhile, Fort Worth, known for its blue-collar roots, leads the nation in industrial space expansion over the past decade, delivering an impressive 9.7 million square feet per year. Overall, Fort Worth ranked second behind Houston, with more than 138 million square feet of industrial space added since the 1980s.
Over the past five decades, the region's office development has thrived due to economic growth and corporate relocations. Since 1980, Dallas added 88 million square feet of office space, with Fort Worth contributing 30 million. Unlike many cities, Dallas saw a 96% increase in office construction over the last decade.
In retail, Dallas ranked 10th with 39 million square feet added, and Fort Worth 15th with 32 million. However, retail construction slowed sharply during the “digital decade” as e-commerce grew, with Dallas and Fort Worth seeing significant declines in deliveries. Though driven by population growth and rising demand, Dallas and Fort Worth added 20 million square feet of self-storage space over the same period, showing steady growth.
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