Ranking It
Damn near all the best places to buy a home are in Texas — including Dallas
A new study shows just how attractive the Lone Star State looks for prospective homebuyers. SelfStorage.com examined the 60 biggest metro areas in the country to determine which were the best to buy a home, and four of the 12 are in Texas.
Specifically researchers looked at long-term economic growth, long-term job growth, availability of new housing, cost premium (ratio of median home value to median salary), recent price increases and real estate taxes.
Dallas ranks No. 6, the lowest among the Lone Star locales. SelfStorage notes that the numbers are largely the same here as they are in No. 5 San Antonio, but Big D suffers from higher real estate taxes and a higher cost premium. In fact, San Antonio has the lowest taxes among the Texas cities.
Austin tops the list, thanks in part to job and economic growth. "The capital of Texas boasts the highest long-term job growth and the second-highest economic growth numbers among the top 12," reads the article. Home prices are still relatively affordable, but real estate taxes are higher than any other city on the list.
Houston ranks No. 2 even if it outperforms Austin in many ways. "However, there's less recent construction in Houston, and economic growth — while healthy — is slower than in Austin," the article notes.
See the complete list of best places to buy a home.