Invest In Apartment Buildings In Garland, TX

Who Rents In Garland And Why

Garland has 31,463 renter households, and 38.4% of the city's households rent (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024). That is a little above the Texas renter share of 37.4%. Renter households grew 11.5% over five years, far faster than the city's 3.5% population growth, to 246,844 residents. Median gross rent in Garland is $1,641 a month, up 44.8% from $1,133 in the 2015–2019 survey, while median household income rose 24.7% to $76,320. Rent grew faster than pay, and 58.1% of renters now spend 30% or more of their income on housing.

Garland is a working city more than a bedroom suburb. The city's economic development office counts more than 300 manufacturers, and it lists Garland ISD, the City of Garland, Kraft Heinz, Sherwin-Williams and Epiroc among the major employers. In March 2025 the city approved incentives for a $143 million Kraft Heinz expansion expected to add 200 jobs. I-30, I-635, the President George Bush Turnpike and State Highway 75 put renters within reach of jobs across Dallas County, and the Downtown Garland DART station links the city to Dallas by rail.

For an apartment owner, that means a tenant base tied to plant, warehouse, school and service jobs. Those renters are steady, but with more than half already rent-burdened, there is limited room to push rents hard. Garland also has no hospital inside its city limits, one of the largest U.S. cities in that position, which leaves the city with fewer hospital jobs than its size suggests.

New Apartments And Rent Pressure In Garland

Garland's new supply comes in small, targeted projects, because the city is nearly 97% developed. GroundFloor Development's 155-unit Draper, at South Garland Avenue and West Avenue B, was finished in 2024 within walking distance of the renovated Downtown Square and the DART station. Anthem Development broke ground in 2023 on Lofts iThirty, a $64 million, 340-unit Class-A project at 6302 Greenbelt Parkway near DART's Lake Ray Hubbard station, with its first units scheduled to open in late 2024. Downtown also has conversions, including the former Bank of America office that became the Glenbrook apartments.

The Census shows how much has been added. Garland has 20,781 homes in buildings with five or more units, 24.1% of its housing stock, and that count rose 23.5% in five years. The Census rental vacancy rate is 6.4%. That figure covers all rentals, including single-family houses, so it is not the same as the occupancy a broker reports for large managed communities. The median Garland home was built in 1978, so a large share of the stock is more than 40 years old.

Across North Texas, the record delivery wave is fading. Marcus & Millichap expected about 21,000 apartments to deliver across Dallas–Fort Worth in 2026, less than half the 2024 total, and projected effective rent growth of 1.8% for the year (as reported by D Magazine in August 2026). The HUD fiscal 2027 fair market rent for a two-bedroom in the Dallas metro area is $1,807, above Garland's Census median.

For a buyer, apartment syndications in Garland tend to be older properties with value-add potential, priced against newer product such as the Draper and Lofts iThirty. Underwriting should assume modest rent growth and a careful look at how much renovated units can charge before tenants trade down.

Garland Neighborhoods We Watch

Garland's apartment stock runs from new transit-oriented projects downtown to older complexes along the lake and the freeways.

How Garland Ranks For Apartment Investors

Out of 133 Texas cities in our data, Garland comes in 58th for median gross rent, 70th for renter share and 21st for five-year rent growth. Its rents fall in the middle of the pack. Put in counts rather than percentages, that is roughly 8,426 more residents, 3,245 more renter households and 3,954 more homes in buildings with 5 or more units than five years earlier. Growth in renter households and new apartment homes has been roughly in balance.

How Garland Compares With Nearby Markets

Garland's median gross rent of $1,641 is above the Texas median of $1,403, and its renter share is 38.4% compared with 37.4% statewide.

Garland Rent Affordability In Dollars

At $1,641 a month, the median Garland rent adds up to $19,692 a year, or roughly 25.8% of what the median household earns. Under the common 30% guideline, a household needs about $65,600 a year to cover that rent comfortably. That's a heavier load than the Texas average of 21.5%. Renters usually earn less than the all-household median, so the real burden for tenants is higher than this simple ratio shows.

In dollars, Garland rent climbed $508 a month over five years and household income climbed $15,117 a year. Rent has outpaced income, so we are careful about how much further a business plan pushes rents on renewal. HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit, $1,807, is 10.1% above the median gross rent for all unit sizes. That gap matters for buildings that accept Housing Choice Vouchers, since local housing authorities base voucher payment standards on it.

Garland Rental Market In Numbers

Here's the Garland rental market in short form, with the source on every figure.

• Garland, TX has 246,844 residents, up 3.5% from the 2015–2019 survey (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• Median household income in Garland, TX is $76,320, up 24.7% over five years (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• Median gross rent in Garland, TX is $1,641 a month, up 44.8% over five years (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• 38.4% of households in Garland, TX rent, about 31,463 renter households (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• 24.1% of homes in Garland, TX are in buildings with 5 or more units (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• The rental vacancy rate in Garland, TX is 6.4%, and 58.1% of renters spend 30% or more of income on rent (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).
• The median home in Garland, TX was built in 1978 (U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024).

What We Look For In A Garland Apartment Building

We look at buildings with 5 or more units in Garland, from small walk-ups to larger garden-style communities, in stabilized or value-add condition. We compare in-place rents with nearby buildings, inspect roofs, plumbing and HVAC, and ask whether better management or targeted renovation can close the gap with the market.

Texas has no state income tax on wages, and property taxes are often one of the largest expenses for apartment owners. We estimate the tax bill as it will be after the purchase, because a sale can trigger a reassessment in many places. Texas has no statewide rent control law, though local rules on notices, fees and deposits still apply. Insurance quotes in Texas reflect hurricane and flood exposure and hail and wind damage, so we get a quote before we make an offer.

After a stretch of fast rent growth, we keep rent assumptions modest and leave room for concessions if new supply opens nearby.

Evaluating Apartment Syndications In Garland

Whoever the sponsor is, these are the questions we would want answered about any apartment syndication in Garland, based on the local numbers above.

• What vacancy does the plan assume? Rental vacancy in Garland is 6.4%. A plan that assumes much lower vacancy than the market should explain why.
• What rent growth is underwritten? Rents here rose 44.8% over five years. Ask whether the plan assumes that pace continues, and what happens to the deal if rents stay flat.
• How was the property tax bill estimated? A sale often triggers a reassessment, so the bill after purchase can be well above what the seller pays today.
• What capital work is budgeted? The median home in Garland was built in 1978, so roofs, plumbing and electrical systems deserve their own line items.
• How will the building compete with new supply? Homes in 5+ unit buildings in Garland rose 23.5% over five years, so newer properties are part of the competition.
• How and when does capital come back? Ask what the plan is for a refinance or sale, and what happens if that takes longer than expected.

How Passive Investing In A Garland Apartment Syndication Works

Two groups make an apartment syndication work. The sponsor, or general partner, handles the deal: finding the building, financing it and running the business plan. The limited partners are passive investors who contribute capital and share in the property's results under the offering's terms.

It's a long-term commitment. The property has to be refinanced or sold before most capital comes back, and the outcome isn't certain. Eligibility rules vary by offering, and most are limited to accredited investors. See investing with Skyline Capital for how we work with limited partners.

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