Pricing Dallas Apartment Move-In Specials on a Daily Rate

A free February is worth the same as a free July

A month free takes off one month of rent. Rent is priced by the month, so a short month and a long month give you the same dollars off.

The real trouble with Dallas apartment specials is the weeks. They're quoted in weeks, days, or months, and weeks don't fit the monthly math everyone tries to use. Put weeks and days on a daily rate, count a month free as one month of rent, and then compare. Season changes the answer too. Our post on reading a Dallas summer lease up in peak season walks through a July offer start to finish.

How the daily rate works

Daily rate = (monthly rent × 12) ÷ 365

Then:

1. Daily rate × days in the lease = full lease cost
2. Daily rate × free days = value of the free rent
3. (Full lease cost − value of the free rent) ÷ lease months = effective monthly rent

That's the number to compare. It's the only number that still works when you compare a 12 month lease with a 15 month lease.

Numbers worth knowing by heart

Special as quoted	Days free
One month free	One month of rent, any month (worth about 30.4 days)
Four weeks free	28
Six weeks free	42
Eight weeks free	56
Two months free	Two months of rent (worth about 61 days)

Notice that “four weeks free” and “one month free” aren't the same offer, and neither are “six weeks free” and “a month and a half free.”

Comparing two Dallas apartment specials

Two offers, same building type, same neighborhood:

	Offer A	Offer B
Listed rent	$1,250	$1,250
Term	15 months	12 months
Concession	2 months free	1 month free
Effective monthly	$1,083	$1,146

Offer A wins by $63 a month. That's the first answer.

It leaves out two things: each building’s community fees, and whether either one makes you pay the free rent back. Add both before you pick a winner. Read two months free on 15 vs one month free on 12 for the full math.

Cash rebates vs. concessions

Some buildings, and some other locators, offer a flat cash rebate instead of a lower rent. It's easy to compare the two the wrong way.

A rebate is one payment. A lower effective rent applies every month for the length of the lease. Over 12 months at a $50 monthly difference, the lower rent is worth $600. A $400 rebate is worth $400. Run both as a total over the full term and compare those numbers.

Then subtract the clawback risk, which applies to the concession, not the rebate. Sometimes that flips it.

What is a concession clawback?

At most Dallas buildings running big specials, free rent comes with strings attached. Break the lease early and you usually have to pay the free rent back. The terms are usually on an extra page added to the lease, not in the main lease.

Ask two questions before signing:

• If I break the lease early, do I pay the free rent back, and how is it figured?
• What is the reletting fee?

Between the clawback and the reletting fee, leaving early can cost a lot more than the free rent was worth. See concession clawback: when free rent becomes a debt.

Why Dallas specials are so big right now

Supply. New buildings that are still filling up sit close together in a few places. This week, the most specials at those buildings are in Bishop Arts, East Dallas and Midtown Dallas inside Dallas, and in Frisco, McKinney, Corinth, Denton and Grand Prairie farther out. Many of those buildings are still filling their units at the same time. Those buildings need to fill up fast and have a marketing budget, and free weeks are the quickest way to do it.

That only lasts as long as buildings are new, so the biggest deals are at the newest ones. A building that's already full has less reason to compete on price. Look and lease specials, waived admin fees, gift cards, and discounts for signing before a building opens show up at new buildings for the same reason.

Winter months, November through February, tend to have the biggest specials. Fewer people move, and buildings still need to fill units.

Specials have an expiration date

Specials end on a set date, and terms at new buildings change every week. Ask the leasing office whether the offer still stands before you head over.

Specials and units both run out. If the one you wanted has ended or leased, send us a note. We'll look for other options ASAP.

Send the offer

Rent, lease length, and the exact wording of the special. Our calculator gives the effective monthly rent, and the total monthly cost page shows how to add the fees.

If the special still looks off after that, send it to us for a second look.