# University Park Apartment Locator | From $1,140 (Oct 2026)
> University Park apartment locator, free to you: 12 communities checked this week, and 1 bedrooms start at $1,767 after specials. See the deals on a map.
URL: https://apartmentlocatordallas.com/neighborhoods/university-park/
# University Park Apartment Locator: Rentals Around SMU, on the School Calendar
University Park is a small city wrapped around the SMU campus, and the campus calendar runs its rental market. Buildings along Hillcrest and Daniel sit within walking distance of classes and often lease by the bedroom. Beyond them, it's garage apartments, duplexes and condos leased by their owners. Many August move-ins get signed between February and April, so a summer search starts late.
## University Park apartments by size this week
We checked 12 places in and near University Park on November 6, 2026. Prices count any firm free rent, spread over the lease, and are before fees.
- Studio: $1,709 a month typical, from $1,185, 4 places with one available, 2 with a special
- 1 Bedroom: $2,116 a month typical, from $1,667, 12 places with one available, 5 with a special
- 2 Bedroom: $2,743 a month typical, from $1,695, 12 places with one available, 5 with a special
- 3 Bedroom: $3,674 a month typical, from $2,907, 6 places with one available, 3 with a special
- 4 Bedroom: from $5,487, 1 places with one available, 1 with a special
## University Park rents this week
We check these numbers every week. Updated November 6, 2026. Where a place has a firm move-in special, its rent counts the free rent spread evenly over the lease. Rents are before fees. 12 communities in and within 1.5 miles of University Park had homes available; 5 listed a move-in special. Method: https://apartmentlocatordallas.com/rent-data-methodology/
Our read this week: Newer buildings here cost about $257 more a month than middle age ones, even after their free rent ($2,186 vs. $1,929 for a 1 bedroom). If price matters most, start with the older buildings. The typical 3 bedroom dropped $150 since November 1. You get more space for your money with a 2 bedroom here: about $2.29 a square foot, compared with $2.74 for a 1 bedroom.
| Size | Communities with available apartments | Lowest rent | Middle half | Typical starting rent | Typical $/sq ft | Since November 1 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Studio | 4 | $1,185 | $1,511 to $1,921 | $1,709 | $2.78 | down $12 |
| 1 bed | 12 | $1,667 | $1,815 to $2,439 | $2,116 | $2.74 | up $5 |
| 2 bed | 12 | $1,695 | $2,171 to $3,844 | $2,743 | $2.29 | down $103 |
| 3 bed | 6 | $2,907 | $3,080 to $4,747 | $3,674 | $2.29 | down $150 |
| 4 bed | 1 | $5,487 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Building class | Communities | Typical 1 bed | $/sq ft | With a special | Typical weeks free |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Newer (Class A) | 8 | $2,186 | $2.80 | 25% | n/a |
| Middle (Class B) | 4 | $1,929 | $1.92 | 75% | 4 |
- Cheapest 1 bedroom here: 1 bed listed from $1,341 (835 sq ft), Class B. Special: 1 Month Free. About $1,229/mo net effective over a 12 month lease
- Cheapest 2 bedroom here: 2 bed listed from $1,977 (1207 sq ft), Class A. Special: 1 Month Free on Select Apartment Homes
- Cheapest studio here: Studio listed from $1,799 (632 sq ft), Class A
- Cheapest 3 bedroom here: 3 bed listed from $3,598 (1609 sq ft), Class B. Special: 6 Weeks Free (48 Hour Look and Lease) (2 Weeks Off 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Full Months Rent)
- Could be the cheapest 1 bedroom: 1 bed listed from $1,667 (646 sq ft), Class A. Special: Up to 1 Month Free
Rents are the lowest listed price for an available apartment of each size in our weekly check. We leave out income restricted, tax credit, 55+ and student communities. Prices can change any day, so get the final price in writing from the building before you apply.
## Areas we cover inside University Park
- **Snider Plaza**: A walkable shopping strip at Hillcrest and Daniel, just north of SMU. Older duplexes and garage apartments sit on the nearby streets, and many of them lease for the school year.
- **Hillcrest corridor**: Hillcrest runs along SMU's east side, lined with duplexes and small apartment buildings a walk from campus. US-75 and Mockingbird Station are a short drive east.
- **Daniel Avenue**: Daniel runs east and west through University Park near SMU and Snider Plaza. Older houses and duplexes line it, and you can walk to campus.
- **SMU campus perimeter**: The streets around SMU, between Hillcrest, Mockingbird and Airline Road. Duplexes, garage apartments and small buildings rent by the bedroom, and leases often start in August.
- **Southwestern Boulevard**: Southwestern Boulevard is a residential street running east and west in University Park, north of the SMU campus. Older houses and some duplexes line it, and Snider Plaza is close enough to walk.
- **Lovers Lane corridor**: Lovers Lane runs along University Park's north edge, with shopping and older homes. It links to Inwood Village on the west and US-75 on the east.
## University Park Apartments Lease on the SMU Calendar
- Your search timed to the right month, since many August homes are spoken for by April
- Leases by the bedroom read closely, including whether rent runs all 12 months, summer included
- Co-signer income rules looked up at each property before anyone applies
- Parking off the street asked about, since the city runs its own permit zones near campus
## Getting Around University Park
University Park is its own city, with Dallas on three sides and Highland Park on the south. Preston Road runs along its west side, Mockingbird Lane follows the southern edge, and Lovers Lane links Preston to Central Expressway farther north.
SMU/Mockingbird Station, on the Red, Blue and Orange lines, sits at the southeast corner, and the Katy Trail starts there too. Most homes are a drive from the station rather than a walk, and for Fort Worth you'd ride into Downtown and catch the TRE at Union Station.
Parking is easier than Downtown or Deep Ellum, but the city has its own permit zones on streets near campus, enforced by its own police. We ask whether a unit includes a space off the street before you sign.
## Two kinds of rentals, and not many of either
Rentals here split two ways. Apartment buildings and condos along Hillcrest and Daniel sell themselves on a short walk to class. Many lease each bedroom separately, so every roommate signs a lease for their own room. Those leases usually run a full 12 months, summer included, which catches people expecting a nine month term.
Everything else is garage apartments behind houses, duplexes and condos leased by owners, scattered across the residential streets. Both groups stay in demand with few openings. Want a high-rise or a building with more services? Turtle Creek and Uptown lease all year.
Near campus, many buildings approve with a co-signer when your own income is short. That person usually needs to earn several times the monthly rent. Homeowners leasing garage apartments and duplexes make their own calls.
## Day to day in University Park
University Park is quiet blocks around SMU, with a small park every few streets and big shopping a short drive away. Game days and the school year set its rhythm more than rush hour.
### Trains, trails and the drive out
Weekday mornings, plan on about 18 minutes to Downtown and 16 to the Medical District, by our count, plus 30 to Legacy West and 33 to DFW Airport. The Katy Trail starts at Mockingbird Station and heads 3.5 miles south past Uptown to the arena, so you can ride to brunch without a car.
- **Katy Trail** (trail): Start at the Mockingbird end and ride south to Uptown for brunch; it's quietest early on weekdays.
### Small parks on almost every walk
The city keeps a park within a few blocks of most homes. Caruth Park has a pond and sports fields. Curtis Park has the city pool, the Holmes Aquatic Center. Goar Park on University Boulevard has a gazebo and a fountain.
- **Caruth Park** (park): A pond and open fields for an evening walk or a game of catch on a cool day.
- **Curtis Park** (park): Home of the city pool; buy a pass early in the season if you'll swim laps all summer.
### Snider Plaza, Lovers Lane and Mockingbird
Snider Plaza is the walkable strip, with small shops and casual places to eat. Lovers Lane along the north edge adds more dinner choices, and Inwood Village sits where it meets Inwood Road. At Mockingbird Station, by the train, the Angelika Film Center shows independent films with restaurants around it.
- **Snider Plaza** (shopping street): Walk over for coffee or a casual lunch; parking gets tight around noon on weekends.
- **Mockingbird Station** (shopping center): Dinner and an indie film by the train, an easy night out with no parking hunt.
### Groceries and big stores
The first Central Market in Dallas, at Greenville Avenue and Lovers Lane, is a short drive east for a big grocery run. NorthPark Center, at Northwest Highway and US-75, is the big mall just north. Highland Park Village, just south across the town line, is the older open air shopping center with high end stores.
- **Highland Park Village** (shopping center): An old Spanish style center for a slow browse; weekday mornings beat the weekend crowd.
- **NorthPark Center** (mall): Everything under one roof for a big shopping day, a few minutes north on Central Expressway.
### Game days and campus museums
Fall Saturdays mean SMU football at Gerald J. Ford Stadium, and the tailgate on the Boulevard, the lawn in front of Dallas Hall, fills hours before kickoff. The Meadows Museum on campus has one of the largest collections of Spanish art outside Spain. The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum is on the SMU campus too. Each July 4, the Park Cities parade ends at Goar Park on University Boulevard.
- **Gerald J. Ford Stadium** (stadium): Fall Saturdays start on the Boulevard; walk over if you live close and skip the game day lots.
- **Meadows Museum** (museum): Go on a weekday afternoon, when the galleries are calm.
- **Dallas Hall** (landmark): The domed hall at the head of the Boulevard, the center of every SMU game day.
### What we tell renters near SMU
On home game Saturdays, the Boulevard closes to cars and game parking fills SMU Boulevard and Hillcrest, so run errands in the morning if you live close. On July 4, Preston Road between Beverly Drive and University Boulevard is packed for the parade, so keep a move off that morning.
## University Park questions
### When should I start looking for an August move-in near SMU?
By February if you can. Many August leases get signed between February and April, and by June the buildings near campus have little left.
### What does leasing by the bedroom mean?
Each roommate signs a lease for their own room instead of one lease for the whole unit. That changes who owes what, how approval works and whose income counts, so we ask how a building leases before you line up roommates.
### Do I need a co-signer?
Often, if your own income is short. That person usually needs to earn several times the monthly rent, and some buildings near campus ask for one either way. We look up each property's rule before you apply.
### Is there anything for rent away from the campus buildings?
Yes, but not much: garage apartments, duplexes and condos leased by owners on the streets from Southwestern Boulevard south to Mockingbird. It takes longer to find one than a unit in Knox-Henderson or Uptown. Around SMU, a typical one bedroom runs $2,116 this week, and the cheapest open one comes to $1,667 after specials.
### Is there an apartment locator for University Park?
Yes. We cover University Park, from the buildings on Hillcrest and Daniel to the garage apartments on the side streets. Tell us your move month early, since the timing here decides how much you'll get to pick from.
## Near University Park
- [Highland Park](/neighborhoods/highland-park/): Armstrong area · Beverly Drive · Lakeside
- [Turtle Creek](/neighborhoods/turtle-creek/): Turtle Creek Boulevard · Blackburn Street · Hall Street
- [Knox-Henderson](/neighborhoods/knox-henderson/): Knox Street · Henderson Avenue · Travis Walk
## Looking in University Park?
Give us your move month and your roommate count, and we'll start the University Park search on the right calendar. More reading: [approval and co-signers](/bad-credit-accepted/), [the real monthly cost](/true-monthly-cost/) and [the weekly rent report](/dallas-rent-report/).
Free to renters · No credit pull · Brokered by Spirit Real Estate Group, TREC #562021
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