So long, Silicon Valley

Study computes Dallas as top affordable city for tech workers

Dallas just outranks Austin in the new list.

The tech mecca of Silicon Valley has become the victim of its own success. Although home prices in the San Jose, California, area have tumbled recently, they remain among the highest in the country. The median home price there hovers close to $1 million.

As a result, many tech workers are fleeing Silicon Valley and its equally expensive northern neighbor, San Francisco, in search of lucrative jobs and affordable housing. They’re landing in places like Dallas, which ranks No. 2 in a new Realtor.com study pinpointing the top 10 cities where tech workers can afford to live in the U.S. Dallas outranks Austin, which comes in a close No. 6.

“While Silicon Valley will continue to be the tech industry’s epicenter, other secondary markets are now providing not only incredible job opportunities, but the opportunity to build a life as well as a career,” David Armendariz, general manager of the technology division at recruiting firm Lucas Group, tells Realtor.com.

For the study, Realtor.com examined the 500 largest U.S. metro areas and ranked them according to five factors:

Number of employees in the tech sector
Number of publicly traded tech companies
Percentage of job listings in the tech sector
Average salaries for tech jobs
Median list price for homes

Realtor.com weeded out spots where median home prices surpassed $400,000.

Dallas, with a median home price of $349,950, captured second place in the ranking. In first place on the list is Huntsville, Alabama.

“While our house prices have been climbing, it’s still a very affordable market compared to the West Coast,” Ted Wilson, principal at Residential Strategies in Dallas, tells Realtor.com.

Aside from the below-$400,000 median home price, Realtor.com cites Dallas’ expanding tech workforce and a median tech salary of $84,614, as well as the presence of the country’s largest arts district.

In the No. 6 spot is Austin, where the median home price stands at $369,998, according to Realtor.com.

Highlighting Austin’s status as a “mini-Silicon Valley,” Realtor.com points out that the Austin area now boasts the fifth largest share of IT jobs in the country, thanks to major employers like Amazon, Apple, Dell, and IBM. The website says Austin’s other draws include SXSW, indie bands, and breakfast tacos.

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Million-dollar homes

Multi-million-dollar gated home community The Preserve rises in Frisco

Preserve

A palace on the prairie of The Preserve in Frisco

Construction has begun on a multi-million-dollar custom home community in Frisco. Called The Preserve, it's situated among PGA Frisco’s championship golf courses and near the Omni PGA Frisco Resort, with multiple phases that will roll out over the next few years.

The Preserve is part of Fields, a 2,500-acre development in North Frisco off the Dallas North Tollway. Fields is co-developed and owned in partnership with The Karahan Companies, Hunt Realty Investments alongside investors Chief Partners and Cross Tie Capital.

The development will feature retail, dining, entertainment, hotels, corporate offices, native Texas plants, flowers, trees, and 250 acres of park space. It's designed by the same team responsible for Plano’s Legacy West, led by Fehmi Karahan.

Phase 1 of The Preserve will feature 233 homes crafted by 10 North Texas luxury homebuilders: Alford Homes, Coats Homes, and Starside Builders have all begun home construction. The other seven are The Preserve Bella Custom Homes, Endurance Homes, Faulkner Perrin Custom Homes, Hawkins-Welwood Homes, Shaddock Custom Builders & Developers, Sharif & Munir Custom Homes, and Ventura Custom Homes, for whom construction will start soon.

The Preserve Frisco The Preserve in Frisco, soon to be covered with homes.The Preserve

Lot sizes range from 6,800 square feet to more than an acre. Home design options will incorporate high ceilings, open floor plans, glass walls, and seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor such as patios, infinity pools, and landscaped exteriors.

The surrounding area will have more than 2,000 new trees plus views delivered via design elements such as floor-to-ceiling windows and expansive outdoor living areas.

Many of the homes will address sustainability, health, and wellness with green architecture, energy efficiency, water conservation, and recycled building materials.

It will combine the privacy of a gated community with resort-style living, featuring amenities such as the PGA golf courses, 20+ miles of hike and bike trails, and the exclusive Brookside Club with an expansive swimming pool, state-of-the-art fitness center, tennis and pickleball courts and a playground.

Prices will start at $3,500,000.

Hunt Realty SVP Todd Watson calls it one of the most anticipated mixed-use projects in the area -- æa perfect location for discerning buyers seeking their forever home or a secondary residence" — although he's involved with the project so he's probably biased.

“As part of the Fields development, with prominent neighbors like PGA of America and the Omni PGA Frisco Resort, we know The Preserve will be one of the most sought-after addresses in North Texas," Watson says.

According to the Frisco Economic Development Corporation, Frisco’s population has increased by 500 percent in two decades and was recently recognized as the fastest growing city in Texas and third across the U.S.

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