North Texas Daily

Rental rates for two-bedroom apartments in Denton rose 2.9 percent in 2017, according to a report by Rent Cafe.

The average two-bedroom apartment in Denton now costs $1,154 per month. While that is more than the cost in previous years, it is still below the national average of $1,361 per month. However, the national average includes cities like New York and San Francisco, which are statistical outliers at over $4,000 and $3,400, respectively.

The national rent average saw a 2.8 percent increase over last year’s rates.

Rent Cafe used data from Yardi Matrix, a private company that collects a variety of commercial real estate data, to conduct its own analysis.

According to Rent Cafe, rental rates are rising the fastest in smaller cities, which is in line with findings from previous years. Demand is cited as the main reason for increasing rent rates.

College students increase the demand for apartments, allowing higher rent rates

Denton Housing Authority CEO Sherri McDaid has spent much of her career working on addressing the housing needs of low-income families in the city of Denton. 

“This trend has been happening in Denton for quite a while,” McDaid said. “The rents are high in Denton, but the demand is also very high, so that’s why they can kind of get away with those high rents.”

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the average income of a student while in college is over $14,000, but that includes both full- and part-time students. Part-time students are likely to skew the data upward.

“Traditionally, [the average income of a college student] isn’t going to be very high, so I would think that $1,000 plus for a unit is going to be pretty high,” McDaid said.

Computer science junior Eric Fox said rising rent rates are not a good sign for the average college student because most have not begun earning 2.9 percent more money in the last year.

“Students are already having to work, sometimes more than one job, and college is already so expensive,” Fox said. “It definitely isn’t good. I honestly don’t know what all we’re paying more for, either. Services aren’t going to get better.”

Fox lives in a two-bedroom apartment at Oaks of Denton, where he and his roommate pay about $1,160 per month, almost on par with the new average.

Denton’s average rent is higher than San Antonio, Lubbock, Waco

In Lubbock, home of Texas Tech University, the average two-bedroom apartment costs $897, well below Denton’s average and down 6.3 percent year-to-year.

In Waco, home of Baylor University, the average two-bedroom apartment costs $958, which is up .4 percent year-to-year.

San Antonio, home to universities and colleges such as the University of the Incarnate Word, St. Mary’s University and University of Texas-San Antonio, has an average cost of $980 for a two-bedroom apartment. That is up 2 percent year-to-year.

In Austin, where the University of Texas is located, a two-bedroom apartment averages $1,299, a number that is up .9 percent year-to-year. However, Austin is also the state capital and a much larger city than Denton, which may be part of the reason for higher prices.

In College Station, home of Texas A&M University, a two-bedroom apartment can be rented for an average of $1,205, which is down .9 percent year-to-year.

Renting an apartment is less costly than living on campus

UNT on-campus housing costs more than the average Denton two-bedroom apartment. According to the UNT Housing rates for 2018-2019, a standard double occupancy room at Bruce, Kerr, Crumley, Maple, Clark and McConnell will cost $5,830 per occupant for the nine-month school year. That equals $647.78per occupant per month or $1,295.56 combined. 

Josh Gosdin, assistant director for housing services at UNT said Denton apartment rates are not a factor in setting university housing rates.

“Our housing rates for on-campus are figured out based on multi-year projections,” Gosdin said. “We started off this 2018-2019 year with a three-year set, so it’s factored into what our freshmen enrollment projections are looking like going forward.”

Gosdin provided some reasons for the higher cost of on-campus living compared to the average two-bedroom apartment.

“In addition to paying for the space and the room, that cost includes utilities,” Gosdin said. “That cost includes laundry facilities, it includes cable and Wi-Fi…and it includes mail. And probably the biggest area of value that we see in the housing department is the on-campus living experience… living on campus and the convenience of that.”

Featured Image: The Quarter Apartments, located at the corner of Eagle Drive and Welch Street. Behind is 33 North Apartment on Eagle Drive. Jacob Ostermann