A solid foundation

Dallas deemed the No. 7 U.S. housing market for growth and stability

The Dallas market is hot — but investing in a home here is a good bet.

Photo by Ariel Skelley/Getty

While housing markets throughout the United States continue to shatter price records, a new study shows that markets in Texas — including Dallas — are the best for growth and stability.

In the study, "Best (and Worst) Housing Markets for Growth and Stability – 2022 Edition," finance website SmartAsset compared home value data in 400 metropolitan areas across the U.S. They looked at statistics from every quarter from the first quarter of 1997 through the fourth quarter of 2021.

Half of the metro areas in the top 20 are in Texas.

Dallas-Plano-Irving places seventh, with a 228 percent rise in prices from 1997 through the end of 2021. It estimates there's only a 1 percent chance that a Dallas-area home would suffer a 5 percent drop in value within 10 years of being purchased.

Next door, Fort Worth-Arlington-Grapevine ranks 15th, with a 213 percent rise in home prices and, like Dallas, a 1 percent chance of a 5 percent loss in value in value over a 10-year period.

By comparison, Austin ranked No. 1 in the study (up from No. 2 last year). Austin-area home prices soared 368 percent from 1997 through the end of 2021, the study says. That was the biggest spike among all of the metro areas examined in the study. Meanwhile, it estimates there’s a zero percent chance of a 5 percent loss in value over a 10-year period.

Home-buying expert Liz Hutz notes that the two main drivers of home price increases are economic growth and job creation, both of which have enjoyed a torrid pace in Texas. For instance, Texas in November surpassed its previous pre-pandemic employment high by inching close to 13 million jobs.

“We will continue to unleash the full might of our economy, attract new business investments, and ensure a more prosperous future for all who call Texas home,” Gov. Greg Abbott vowed in December.

Elsewhere in Texas:

In SmartAsset’s 2020 and 2021 studies, Midland, Texas, ranked first for growth and stability. This year, it lands at No. 3. According to the 2022 study, home prices in the Midland area jumped 266 percent from 1997 to 2021, with a zero percent chance of a 5 percent decrease in home value over a 10-year period.

Houston ranks sixth, with a 221 percent rise in home prices over a 25-year span and a zero percent chance of a 5 percent loss in value over a 10-year period.

San Antonio comes in 11th, with a 214 percent rise in home prices over a 25-year span. It also has a zero percent chance of a 5 percent loss in value over a 10-year period.

Odessa (No. 8), San Angelo (No. 10), Waco (No. 12), and Bryan-College Station (No. 17) are also among SmartAsset's best markets for growth and stability.

Nationally, the three cities joining Austin and Midland in the top five best cities for growth and stability are: Boulder, Colorado (No. 2), Rapid City, South Dakota (No. 4), and Fort Collins, Colorado (No. 5).

The five worst are: Flint, Michigan (No. 1), Monroe, Michigan (No. 2), East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania (No. 3), Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia, Michigan (No. 4), and Rockford, Illinois (No. 5).

lists rankings

Rent Report

Here's how many Texans are paying too much for rent, report reveals

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Millions of Texas renters, both current residents and new arrivals, suffer from wallet whiplash.

A new report from the Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers shows 45 percent of the state’s renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Renters occupy more than 4.2 million Texas households, representing nearly half of the state’s residents.

Worse yet, 81 percent of extremely low-income households in Texas spend more than 50 percent of their income on housing, the report says. For that income group, Texas has a shortage of 864,000 affordable homes.

Thirty percent is the standard financial benchmark for spending too much income on rent, while 50 percent puts a renter in the “severely cost-burdened” bucket.

“To sustain growth and secure future prosperity, Texas will need more than 320,000 additional affordable homes [rented and owned] to address workforce housing affordability and meet the demands of a growing population,” says the report.

“Today, the state is creating thousands of new jobs,” the report adds, “but housing supply has not kept pace with demand, driving up housing costs and constraining continued economic growth.”

Not surprisingly, people who live in or move to three of Texas’ biggest metro areas get hit with the state’s highest apartment rental rates. Here’s Apartments.com’s list of the 10 most expensive places for renters in Texas, based on apartments whose average size ranges from 713 square feet in Austin to 771 square feet in Plano:

1. Frisco — $1,477 per month
2. Plano — $1,461 per month
3. Austin — $1,417 per month
4. Dallas — $1,413 per month
5. McKinney — $1,363 per month
6. Grand Prairie — $1,327 per month
7. Irving — $1,318 per month
8. Garland — $1,237 per month
9. Fort Worth — $1,217 per month
10. Houston — $1,183 per month

San Antonio boasts some of the lowest average rent among Texas’ 10 most affordable markets: $1,075 per month. Mesquite, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, also fits into that category, with average monthly rent of $1,052.

Earlier this month, Gov. Greg Abbott announced more than $114 million in grants to help develop or rehabilitate properties, providing more than 4,400 affordable rental units.

“As our state grows, we must ensure that Texans have access to the affordable housing they need to thrive,” Abbott says.

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