Dallas-Fort Worth’s construction boom ranks second nationally in 2019
Only New York City saw more building than North Texas.
(More than $22 billion in D-FW construction starts were recorded in 2019.)
Dallas-Fort Worth was the second-busiest building market in the country last year with almost $22.5 billion in construction.
Only New York City had more total construction — both residential and nonresidential — than the D-FW area, according to information from Dodge Data & Analytics.
It was the fourth year in a row that annual building starts in North Texas topped $20 billion — an unheard of pace of construction for the D-FW area.
¶¶ÒõÏÂÔØÍøÕ¾ $10 billion of local construction starts were for nonresidential commercial projects — everything from office buildings to retail and warehouses — which rose 14% from 2018.
Residential building starts totaled about $12.6 billion, down 12% from 2018’s total, according to Dodge Data.
Nationwide construction last year totaled $817.6 billion, about the same as in 2018.
“Last year will go down as one of the most volatile years for monthly construction starts due the lumpy nature of large projects,� Richard Branch, chief economist of Dodge Data & Analytics, said in the report. “Looking beyond the influence of these massive projects, it is evident that the uncertainty surrounding trade policy weighed on construction activity last year.�
Building volumes fell in 13 of the major markets Dodge Data tracks.
Houston ranked third nationally for construction starts with $18.7 billion in building. And Austin ranked 11th with $12.3 billion in construction.


