How Is the Dallas Rental Market Doing in 2026? July Data & Landlord Insights

Your monthly guide to rental conditions in Dallas-Fort Worth. This is our August 2026 report, covering July 2026 rental data: what rents looked like last month, what's driving the market, and what it means if you own a rental home.

Dallas-Fort Worth Rental Market Snapshot — July 2026

Here's where Dallas-Fort Worth rents landed in July 2026, across all property types — apartments, condos, townhomes, and single-family homes.

Dallas-Fort Worth median rent fell to $1,688 in July 2026, down 4.94% from a year ago, as a wave of new multifamily supply continues to outpace even steady job growth and in-migration. Homes are still leasing in 23 days, but with roughly 40% of listings offering concessions, pricing competitively from day one matters more than waiting for a better offer.

Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, all rental property types, July 2026.

What's Driving Dallas-Fort Worth Rental Market Conditions Right Now

Dallas-Fort Worth Rental Supply and New Construction

The supply wave hitting Dallas-Fort Worth is concentrated in the northern suburbs, particularly the Frisco/Prosper/Celina corridor, where roughly 7,000 units are currently under construction and account for 16% of the entire DFW pipeline. Across the metro, about 30,200 units remain underway with approximately 16,000 new deliveries expected in 2026, down sharply from the 2023–2024 peak but still enough to keep pressure on rents in high-growth suburban submarkets. If your property sits in that northern corridor, from Frisco through Prosper and into Celina, you are competing directly with a wave of new build-to-rent communities that have been opening steadily since 2021.

Why People Rent in Dallas-Fort Worth

Dallas-Fort Worth keeps pulling in residents and jobs, which gives the rental market a floor even when supply runs hot. At 6.66%, mortgage rates still make buying a stretch for many households, pushing would-be buyers into rentals across urban nodes like Uptown, Knox-Henderson, and Deep Ellum as well as family-oriented suburban corridors near top-rated school districts. About 40.1% of DFW households rent, and that base stays sticky as long as ownership costs remain elevated.

What This Means for Dallas-Fort Worth Landlords

The peak leasing season runs April through August, and you are now in its final days with the back-to-school push wrapping up this week. If your unit is vacant today, price it to move rather than holding out, because foot traffic drops noticeably in September. With the DFW median rent down nearly 5% year-over-year in July and roughly 40% of listings offering concessions of six to twelve weeks of free rent, a competitive asking price matters more right now than holding your number.

Dallas-Fort Worth Rent by City — July 2026

Allen leads Dallas-Fort Worth in leasing speed, with homes renting in just 10 days on average, followed closely by Plano at 13 days and Lewisville at 15. At the other end of the table, Dallas, Mesquite, and Grand Prairie all averaged 32 days on market in July, with Grand Prairie also posting a 0.5% month-over-month rent decline. Most cities clustered between 22 and 28 days, putting the typical DFW suburb squarely in the three-to-four-week range, with Allen and Plano as clear outliers on the fast end.

• Dallas, TX: Urban renters gravitate toward walkable neighborhoods like Uptown, Deep Ellum, and Knox-Henderson, where the city's few truly walkable corridors command a premium. The median rent sat at $1,875 in July, down 12.2% year-over-year, which is one of the steeper annual drops in the metro, though a modest +0.6% month-over-month nudge suggests the floor may be stabilizing. At 32 days DOM, homes are taking longer to lease than most DFW suburbs, so price your vacancy competitively to avoid sitting through August.

• Fort Worth, TX: Young professionals hunting for urban vibes at a discount head to West 7th Street and the Near Southside/Magnolia Avenue corridor, where rents run 15–20% below comparable Dallas neighborhoods. The median rent was $1,711 in July, down 3.0% year-over-year, one of the shallower annual declines in the metro. At 22 days DOM, Fort Worth is leasing faster than Dallas proper, and the nearly flat month-over-month reading (-0.4%) suggests this market is absorbing supply without the sharper corrections hitting other cities.

• Arlington, TX: The median rent was $1,565 in July, essentially unchanged month-over-month (0.0%) and down just 0.7% year-over-year. That near-zero annual decline stands out in a metro where most cities are posting bigger drops. At 24 days DOM, homes are moving at a reasonable pace, and the flat rent trend points to a market that has already worked through much of its excess supply.

• Plano, TX: The median rent was $1,778 in July, slipping 0.8% month-over-month and 1.2% year-over-year, but the annual decline remains shallow compared to harder-hit cities in the metro. What stands out most is the 13-day DOM: homes here are leasing faster than almost anywhere else in Dallas-Fort Worth, which gives landlords a little more pricing leverage than the softening numbers alone would suggest.

• Irving, TX: The median rent was $1,560 in July, down a sharp 18.6% year-over-year, the steepest annual drop of any city in this table. That figure reflects heavy supply pressure that has been building for several months. At 27 days DOM, the market is not moving quickly either, so owners with vacancies should price aggressively and consider offering concessions to compete.

• Garland, TX: The median rent was $1,695 in July, down 7.0% year-over-year but up 0.5% month-over-month, a small positive tick that suggests the market is at least not falling further right now. At 30 days DOM, leasing is on the slower side, so that slight month-over-month recovery is worth watching but not yet a reason to push rents higher.

• Grand Prairie, TX: The median rent was $1,626 in July, and at +2.5% year-over-year, Grand Prairie is one of only a handful of cities in the metro posting annual rent growth. Month-over-month it dipped 0.5%, a minor pullback after what appears to be a period of steady appreciation. At 32 days DOM, it is not the fastest-moving market, but the positive annual trend gives landlords here more room to hold price than most of their DFW counterparts.

• Frisco, TX: The median rent was $2,092 in July, the highest in the metro by a clear margin, though it slipped 1.6% year-over-year and 0.2% month-over-month, both modest moves relative to the overall market. At 23 days DOM, homes are leasing at a solid pace for a top-tier price point, indicating that demand for premium suburban product remains healthy even as new supply puts pressure on rents across the broader metro.

• McKinney, TX: The Craig Ranch planned community continues to draw families with its resort-style amenities, Midtown McKinney proximity, and access to top-rated Frisco ISD feeder zones. The median rent was $1,778 in July, down 1.1% year-over-year, a small decline for a market with this much built-in demand. At 22 days DOM, homes are leasing quickly, and the tight leasing pace suggests landlords can price at market without needing to offer deep concessions.

• Mesquite, TX: The median rent was $1,484 in July, down 10.8% year-over-year, one of the larger annual declines in the metro. At 32 days DOM and a nearly flat month-over-month reading (-0.1%), the market is slow-moving and still working through supply pressure. Owners should expect to compete on price and potentially offer concessions to attract tenants before the summer leasing window closes.

• Denton, TX: The median rent was $1,434 in July, the second-lowest in this table, and down just 0.2% year-over-year. That near-flat annual reading is actually a relative strength: while most cities in the metro are seeing larger annual declines, Denton is holding close to last year's levels. At 28 days DOM, the market is moving at an average pace, and the minimal rent erosion suggests supply and demand are roughly in balance here.

• Carrollton, TX: The median rent was $1,729 in July, down 5.2% year-over-year and 0.7% month-over-month. The annual decline is meaningful, but the standout number is the 16-day DOM: Carrollton is leasing faster than nearly every other city in the metro. That leasing velocity gives owners confidence that well-priced homes will not sit, even as the overall rent level continues to drift lower.

• Richardson, TX: The median rent was $1,732 in July, down 11.3% year-over-year, a sharp annual decline that reflects the same supply wave hitting much of the metro. The 0.5% month-over-month uptick is a small positive signal, but one month of movement is not a trend. At 22 days DOM, homes are moving at a reasonable clip, so landlords who price at current market levels rather than last year's comps should be able to lease without extended vacancy.

• Lewisville, TX: The median rent was $1,519 in July, down 1.5% year-over-

Dallas-Fort Worth Rent by Bedroom Count and Property Type — July 2026

Rent by Bedroom Count in Dallas-Fort Worth

Rents across Dallas-Fort Worth scaled steadily with bedroom count in July 2026, but the jumps were not evenly distributed. The move from a 1-bedroom to a 2-bedroom added $433 per month, and stepping up to a 3-bedroom added another $602, making that the steepest single increment in the lineup. By comparison, the gap between studios and 1-bedrooms was just $89, and the 4-bedroom premium over 3-bedrooms came in at $538. Overall, the spread from the bottom of the range to the top ran $1,662, from $1,240 for studios to $2,902 for 4-bedroom rentals.

Rent by Property Type in Dallas-Fort Worth

Single-family homes commanded the largest premium in July 2026, with a median rent of $2,599, which is $911 (54.0%) above the blended metro median of $1,688. Townhouses followed at $2,423, or $735 (43.5%) above the blended figure, but they took 50 days to lease compared to 35 days for single-family. Apartments came in $200 (11.8%) below the blended median at $1,488 and leased in 27 days, the fastest of any property type. Condos sat closest to the blended median at $1,743, just $55 above it, yet posted the slowest leasing pace by far at 85 days on market.

Data Sources & Methodology

• Rental market data: Median rents, days on market, listing counts, and rent change figures. Sourced from county public records, deed and tax assessor data, and rental listings on publicly accessible platforms.
• Doorstead Platform Data: Internal leasing outcomes from Doorstead-managed single-family homes — days to lease, pricing tier benchmarks. Plano, TX, trailing 12 months.