Will Dallas-Fort Worth’s real estate market keep its hot run alive in the new year?

Almost two years after the pandemic, the burgeoning real estate market in North Texas will be looking for an even stronger recovery in 2022.

The sale of homes and the rental of apartments are already at record levels in the new year. And most of the commercial real estate sectors are recovering.

Colliers International has just named Dallas-Fort Worth the country’s premier real estate market for the new year. The commercial real estate company said D-FW is a leader in the US in sales volume of real estate investments in both 2020 and 2021.

“The main factor that helped our survey respondents choose Dallas-Fort Worth as their top market for 2022 is the widespread investment opportunity,” said Aaron Jodka, research director at Colliers International. “D-FW is one of the most important logistics hubs in the country and with industry as a top investment destination overall, the metroplex stands out.”

Jodka cited investment opportunities in the metropolitan area’s strong multi-family market – “the asset class with the highest total sales volume nationwide” – along with the sustained population and employment growth that drives office and retail growth.

Given the accelerated growth of e-commerce during the pandemic, the construction of warehouse and sales areas in D-FW is at a record level and is expected to grow in 2022.

Office building activity in North Texas and the United States is increasing as more employees move from home to the office.

Ryan Severino, chief economist at Jones Lang LaSalle commercial real estate firm, said the commercial real estate market is recovering faster from the pandemic downturn than from previous declines. According to Dodge Data & Analytics, the region saw commercial housing starts up 60% in November.

“Industrial is pushing its way into the expansion area with record-low vacancies and strong rental growth,” said Severino in his forecast for 2022. “Retail and multi-family houses are continuing to recover, with vacancy rates now generally falling and rents rising.

“The office has not yet achieved stabilization, which is likely to happen in 2022, but the pace of deterioration has slowed and offers hope for the future.”

Even the hotel market – one of the commercial real estate sectors hardest hit by COVID – is moving towards pre-pandemic levels.

Hotel revenues in the Dallas area have nearly doubled since 2020 but are still about 8% below pre-pandemic estimates according to the latest estimates from Source Strategies.

“Many Texas markets saw impressive rallies in the second and third quarters of 2021, but some business-dependent markets continue to lag,” said Todd Walker, president of Source Strategies. “Dallas-Fort Worth subway sales are likely to recover to 2019 levels by the end of 2022, but the pandemic’s continued addition of new offerings will result in lower occupancy and lower revenue per available room over the year . “

Walker said he doesn’t see revenue per available room – an important metric in the hotel industry – recovering to 2019 levels in D-FW by 2023.

“Downtown markets, which typically rely on corporate, group, and convention travel, will recover more slowly,” said Walker.

The North Texas home market is at record levels and single-family home sales and prices are forecast to continue to rise in 2022.

The National Association of Realtors ranked D-FW among those US metropolitan areas where the rise in home prices in 2022 is likely to outperform the rest of the country. San Antonio made this list too.

“The housing sector performed spectacularly in many markets in 2021, with tremendous gains in places like Austin, Boise and Naples,” said Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Several markets performed reasonably well in 2021, but not as strong as the underlying fundamentals suggest. Therefore, these hidden gem markets have more room for growth in 2022. “