Fort Worth is becoming the central hub in North Texas for commercial real estate development.
While commercial real estate might be facing trouble in other parts of the United States, Fort Worth is seeing a real estate boom, according to Rogers Healy, CEO of Dallas-based Rogers Healy and Associates, a real estate brokerage firm that services North Texas.
“[Fort Worth] has always just kind of done their thing at their own pace. … I think slow and steady continues to win the race,” said Healy on Fox Business’ “The Bottom Line.”
Healy spoke about how Texas Christian University (TCU) football may have helped bolster Fort Worth’s reputation, leading to significant population growth.
As the fastest-growing major city in the United States, Fort Worth has become the dominant commercial real estate construction market in North Texas, with over $2 billion worth of new projects currently under construction or in the project pipeline, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, Fort Worth has seen the fastest growth rate of the nation’s top 30 most populated cities. Fort Worth has had a 4.1% growth rate since 2020 and a numeric population gain in 2022 of about 19,170, with approximately 53 people moving there each day.
“People that historically would go to Silicon Valley or New York City or even, you know, places like Illinois, are moving to Fort Worth. And because of that, there’s job growth,” Healy said, per Fox News.
In addition, Healy suggested that colleges like TCU and job opportunities outside of the city’s traditional real estate, oil and gas, and legal sectors are “giving kids a reason to actually stay there after they graduate.”
While Fort Worth is seeing explosive population growth and demand for commercial real estate, Dallas has seen a weakening in demand and a population exodus. Census Bureau data shows that Dallas has had a growth rate of -3.36% since 2020 and a numeric population decline of 14,444 in 2022, with about 40 people leaving every day.
Besides the population exodus impacting Dallas, Healy suggested that Dallas has fewer opportunities for commercial real estate and growth than Fort Worth, which can expand westward.
Dallas can expand north and eastward, but only so far. In contrast, Fort Worth can continue expanding westward “for miles,” Healy explained, providing companies ample space to invest in large projects.
Commercial construction in Dallas can also be tricky and time-consuming due to the City’s building permit process, which has become a subject of ire for the development community, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
