D-FW construction starts bounce back from pandemic

The Dallas-Fort Worth construction sector has lost ground during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first half of 2021, construction permits were filed for nearly $ 4.5 billion in commercial and multi-family real estate projects in the region. That is 12% more than in the same period last year.

That exceeds the half-year profits before the start of the pandemic.

According to a new report from Dodge Data & Analytics, the D-FW area ranked second in total commercial and residential starts after New York City.

Nationwide, the value of commercial and multi-family homes in the 20 largest US metropolises rose 12% in the first six months of 2021 compared to the same period last year.

Many housing starts across the country were postponed or canceled in the early months of the pandemic last year.

“The recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has started but is very uneven,” said Richard Branch, chief economist at Dodge Data & Analytics, in the new report. “Commercial construction is being driven by the strength in the warehouse sector as large e-commerce companies expand their logistics infrastructure while office, retail and hotel activities are subdued.

“The starts for apartment buildings have recovered solidly after a weak 2020,” he said. “The dollar value of commercial and apartment buildings should continue to improve over the next six months; however, growth will remain subdued due to high material prices and the shortage of skilled workers in the construction sector. “

Some of the tallest buildings in North Texas starting in the first half of the year include the $ 150 million Harwood No. 14 near Uptown, the $ 85 million downtown JW Marriott Hotel, and a new $ 60 million Facebook data center building in North Fort Worth.

D-FW apartments project startups were 30% higher year-over-year, with the biggest new projects including Hines’ $ 250 million Maple Terrace residential building and the $ 100 Urby residential tower in the Dallas Design District.

So far in 2021, developers have built millions of square meters of industrial buildings in North Texas, which also contributed to the construction costs for the region.

While many U.S. metropolitan areas saw a recovery in commercial construction, Dodge Data said markets such as Houston, Washington, DC and Los Angeles saw housing starts decline from the first half of 2020.

In the Houston area, home starts for commercial and apartment buildings decreased 30% to a total of $ 2.2 billion.

According to Dodge Data, 40% of all business and multi-family starts were in the top 10 metropolises in the first half of the year.

The real estate market in the D-FW area has recovered from the pandemic faster than most areas of the country.

Dallas was the country’s leading commercial real estate investment market that year.

For the first six months of this year, Dallas recorded nearly $ 13.4 billion in commercial real estate transactions – 43% more than the same period last year, according to a new report from Real Capital Analytics.

The sale of dozens of local community shares and warehouses, as well as the $ 700 million purchase of the Crescent Complex of Uptown Dallas, all contributed to the huge real estate investments in the area that year.

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