Changes ahead in suburban Dallas’ housing market Homeownership has become increasingly expensive, forcing many former renters out despite increasing desire to transition into homeownership. Mark has been an accidental landlord for three years. Now, as his former neighbors experienced, he can’t afford to buy a home where he’s landed. He voices a common sentiment among renters, saying, “If I want to stay here, it’s basically not tenable.” This foreshadows the escalating dilemma we’re all becoming accustomed to, particularly in an ever-changing housing arena that’s more and more inaccessible.
The soaring rates of displacement have raised the alarm among advocacy groups such as the Tenant Union Federation, headed by Tara Raghuveer. She focuses on the changing quality of the housing market. This loss of affordability is pushing a third of all urban residents in the United States age 35 or older out of cities and into suburbs. This trend has been significantly influenced by the pandemic’s shift to remote work, which has reshaped preferences for living arrangements.
In a reversal that’s both surprising and remarkable, homebuying has become more difficult in suburban counties surrounding Dallas than in Dallas County itself. This would be a huge reversal. While homeownership is becoming increasingly more attainable in the suburbs, that is not true of homeownership in the city compared to the suburbs as of 2018. Specifically between 2018 and 2023, the share of residents who rent dramatically increased by 17.6% in the suburbs surrounding Dallas would be a striking example. Over those decades, 15 of those suburbs went from being majority-homeowner to majority-renter communities.
Yet for renters such as Andrew Decker of Lake Villa, Illinois, the prospect of home ownership continues to tempt—just out of reach. Decker’s ideal scenario would be to purchase the rent house he’s living in, which is on the market for $340,000. “We would like to make it our forever home if we could afford it, but it’s just so expensive,” he said. He added that he would jump at the chance to purchase it for $200,000, remarking, “If they were to come at me and tell me that, ‘Hey, you can buy this house for 200 grand today,’ I’d pull the trigger tomorrow. I wouldn’t even hesitate. But 340’s crazy.
Mark’s experience in Dallas mirrors Decker’s frustrations. He estimates that comparable properties in his area would require monthly payments that are 30% higher than his current rent. Now, he’s worried he may have to move out of the region altogether just to afford to live somewhere. A second, larger trend is that rentership jumped by at least 5 percentage points in 11 of the 20 suburbs neighboring larger U.S. metros. This significant increase happened from 2018 to 2023.
“You have your own land, you have kids or you have a dog, and you want that space,” he explained. He explained the lure of the amenities that single-family homes provide. This adds a new layer of complexity to the decision to remain renters.
Jay Parsons pointed out the emergence of “suburban downtowns,” where residents can enjoy proximity to work and leisure activities while maintaining a more affordable rent compared to city living. You’ll hardly ever be far from your workplace. You can be close to nice restaurants and shops but live in a suburban area where you’re still using a car,” Parsons said.
As George Ratiu, vice president of research at National Apartment Association, points out, our renters are feeling the financial squeeze. He noted that increasingly, people are choosing to enter into rental contracts rather than purchase homes because of the convenience that rental provides. “The ability to have one payment that covers all your expenses generally — you don’t have to deal with the mortgage payment and the home insurance and maybe the HOA and then a lot of maintenance expense — has been something that for a lot of people has been worth it,” Ratiu stated.
Even with these challenges, the overall trends indicate profound changes in rental landscapes throughout suburban communities. The continued move away from central cities has created incredible opportunities for renters and owners to connect. This movement comes with a serious challenge to affordability and access to housing.