Dallas-Fort Worth ranks 2nd nationwide for real estate investors

Dallas-Fort Worth is projected to be one of the top real estate markets in the country in 2023, behind only Nashville.

Driving the news: Dallas rose to the second spot from last year's seventh-place rank, according to the newly released Emerging Trends in Real Estate report produced by the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

• The Dallas area also ranks sixth in homebuilding prospects next year.

Why it matters: Investors are flocking to the Sun Belt markets, including Dallas, Austin, Houston and Atlanta, as opposed to the colder, more-established cities in the north, such as Chicago.

• They aren't drawn to the warmer weather but to the population growth and lower housing prices.

Yes, but: Real estate investors worry about climate change and rising temperatures, pointing to the increase of billion-dollar storms.

• The report mentions five "once-in-1,000-year storms" this summer, including in Dallas.

Details: More than 2,000 real estate professionals were interviewed for the annual report, which had a mostly positive outlook on 2023, despite rising housing costs and concerns about inflation.

• High amounts of construction in D-FW will likely slow the fast increase in rental costs, the report says.
• Hybrid work has brought workers to offices about three days a week nationwide, and up to 20% of existing office space may need to be repurposed.

The bottom line: Dallas, like other Sun Belt cities, has recovered faster after the height of the pandemic than other cities.