Top 10 Dallas Apartment Owners

By Razvan Cimpean

Last year nearly $5 billion was invested in Dallas multifamily assets, as the metro continued to attract both domestic and foreign investors. However, as a result of the recent construction surge, the average occupancy rate decreased in Dallas and Fort Worth alike. The demographic expansion in recent years has little impact on the housing sector. While the city’s population is growing nearly three times faster than the U.S. average, the increase in multifamily stock has remained almost on the same level with the nationwide rate. 

This list highlights the metro’s top 10 private, REIT and institutional investor apartment owners, based on unit counts, according to Yardi Matrix data from December 2017. The total number includes units within projects that are completed, under construction, planned and prospective.

10. Greystar

Although Greystar has the lowest number of units in Dallas (5,772) on this list, the company is one of the largest nationwide, where it owns more than 65,000 units. Fitzhugh Urban Flats, the 452-apartment community at 2707 N. Fitzhugh Ave., is the largest multifamily property Greystar owns and operates in Dallas. By the end of the year, the real estate firm is expected to complete Elan Flower Mound, a 466-unit community under construction in Dallas, and Overture Fairview, a 195-apartment multifamily property in Fairview.

9. InterCapital Partners

With seven units shy of 5,900 apartments in Dallas, the Chicago-based company acquired two multifamily properties this year. In a deal with McDowell Properties, InterCapital snagged The Vines, a 300-unit community in Lewisville. The firm also purchased the 504-unit Shadows of Cottonwood from Bridge Investment Group Partners. Additionally, InterCapital significantly expanded its portfolio two years ago with the acquisition of six assets totaling more than 1,700 units from McDowell Properties, two properties totaling 658 apartments from Bridge Investment Group Partners and a 240-unit community from Allen Harrison Co.

8. Cross Equities

Cross Equities owns 28 multifamily properties in Dallas totaling a little more than 6,200 units, with Granite Redevelopment acting as property manager for all of them. The Addison-based firm purchased the 373-unit Tschannen Estates last year from a private owner, and in 2016 the 160-unit Spanish Timbers from a different private owner. The largest community Cross Equities owns is the 437-unit Spanish Village, located at 3232 Sumter Drive, acquired in 2012 from Latitude Management Real Estate Investors.

7. Madera Cos.

With 28 properties, Madera Cos. has 6,641 units in Dallas, most of them located in Fort Worth. Meadow Ridge, a 484-unit community located at 3101 W. Normandale St. in Fort Worth, is the Lubbock-based firm’s largest multifamily property, acquired this June from Rosenberg Brothers Investments. Last year, in three separate portfolio transactions, Madera purchased 10 assets from Starwood Capital Group totaling more than 2,422 units, as well as a 156-unit property from American Equity Real Estate.

6. Cortland Partners

Coming in at No. 6 is Cortland Partners, with 20 properties totaling a little more than 6,806 units. The Atlanta-based company is developing the 50-unit second phase of The Bristol in The Colony, scheduled for completion by the end of the year. In 2017, Cortland acquired the 417-unit Suite 2801 in Euless from Crow Holdings, and the 420-unit 910 Texas Street by Cortland from Hat Creek Partners. The company’s largest multifamily property is the 590-apartment Aleo at North Glen in Irving, located at 7904 N. Glen Drive and purchased at the beginning of 2016 from Bell Partners

5. Knightvest Capital

Knightvest owns and manages 33 Dallas multifamily properties totaling nearly 9,500 units. The 576-unit Magnolia Ranch, located at 3191 Medical Center Drive in McKinney, is the company’s largest community, bought in February 2015 from Blackstone Group. Last year, the Dallas-based firm purchased the 216-unit Reagan at Bear Creek in Euless from Residential Realty Group, and the 246-unit The Heights in Arlington from Momentum Real Estate Partners. Two years ago, Knightvest acquired seven properties totaling more than 1,600 units in separate transactions.

4. Lincoln Property Co.

With only 22 multifamily in Dallas, Lincoln Property Co. owns more than 10,500 apartments. The Herndon, Va.-based firm awaits city approvals for three properties, the 927-unit Gates of Prosper in Prosper, the 1,500-unit Village 121 in Plano and the 152-unit 305 Jack Finney in Greenville. The company is also expected to deliver the 299-apartment Lincoln Kessler Park by the end of May 2018. Once completed, the community will feature one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 732 to 1,377 square feet. The Village Bend & Bend East, a 1,064-unit multifamily property located at 5454 Amesbury Drive, is Lincoln’s largest community in Dallas.

3. Westdale Asset Management

Westdale has 44 properties and roughly 12,000 apartments in Dallas, with the largest one being the 685-unit The Davenport at 14500 Dallas Parkway. The company acquired the community in 2008 from CenterSquare Investment Management. Westdale is developing The Case building, a 337-apartment property at 3131 Main St., and is expected to complete the construction by the middle of the year. In 2016, the company purchased the 416-unit Ridgecrest at 1200 Dallas Drive from Blackstone. The previous year, Westdale expanded its Dallas portfolio with the acquisition of Camino del Sol, a 300-unit property located at 1030 Dallas Drive.

2. MAA

With four fewer properties than Westdale, MAA, the largest apartment owner in Austin, owns and operates about 14,000 apartments in Dallas. Post Addison Circle, a 1,334-unit community in Addison, is the largest of them. Completed in phases in 1997, 1998 and 2000, the 10-building property features studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 420 to 2,273 square feet. In 2016, MAA completed Cityscape at Market Center II, a 318-unit community located at 440 Coit Road in Plano, adjacent to Cictyscape at Market Center, a 454-unit property completed in 2014. In the last 10 years, the Memphis, Tenn.,-based company developed more than 4,000 apartments.

1. Starwood Capital Group

The Connecticut-based company has more than 50 multifamily properties in Dallas, amounting to 15,535 apartments. Starwood purchased its largest Dallas community, Landmark at Lake Village North, in 2016 from Landmark Apartment Trust of America as part of a multi-state portfolio sale that expanded its local portfolio with more than 3,500 units. The 848-apartment community in Garland, completed in 1983, consists of one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 560 to 1,271 square feet. Last year, Starwood closed a deal with Milestone Group, acquiring 78 multifamily properties in 10 states, increasing its Dallas portfolio with almost 5,400 units. Additionally, the company is planning a 50-unit second phase for its Briarcrest community in Carrollton.

Images courtesy of Yardi Matrix