Real Estate Rumblings

Home prices across U.S. are flattening, but what about Dallas?

808 Lake Breeze Dr. Dallas home for sale

Dallas-Fort Worth home prices are bucking the national trend.

Photo courtesy of Briggs Freeman

Here's some pleasant news for potential homebuyers across the nation: Real estate investment site HomeUnion says the U.S. housing market shows signs of flattening.

According to a new report, the median price of owner-occupied homes in the U.S. declined slightly in March 2016, down 1.1 percent from the previous year to $234,300. HomeUnion anticipates this trend will continue through the typically busy spring homebuying season. "Housing affordability has pushed beyond incomes in many areas of the country, limiting demand at today’s prices despite low interest rates," says Steve Hovland, director of research.

Investment properties, however, are another story. The median price of investment homes in America (those not occupied by the owner), grew 8.5 percent year-over-year to $192,600. "Since last August when volatility set into the global stock markets, investors have been repositioning their portfolios to hedge against uncertainty and find stable yields," Hovland explains. "We’re seeing that demand translate into higher investment home prices."

In Dallas-Fort Worth, owner-occupied home prices are bucking the national trend, which is good for sellers, not so good for aspiring homeowners. According to HomeUnion's data, the average owner-occupied home price is up almost 6 percent from last year to $225,000. Investment home prices have increased almost 5 percent to $145,500.

The story is similar in Austin, where owner-occupied home prices are up almost 9 percent and investment properties are up 12 percent.

Only Houston mirrors the national trend, with a 1 percent decrease in owner-occupied home prices and a 5 percent increase in investment home prices. It's a good time to be a buyer in San Antonio, where owner-occupied home prices remain unchanged and investment prices have taken an 8 percent dive.

reports home-for-sale

on the rise

2 Dallas neighbors rank among fastest-growing wealthy suburbs in U.S.

celina-tx.gov/

Celina had the second highest population growth nationwide from 2018 to 2023.

Two Dallas-area cities have earned major bragging rights: Celina and Prosper, two boomtowns north of Dallas, are among the top three fastest growing affluent suburbs in the country.

The cities' new affluent status was unveiled in a new GoBankingRates' study ranking the "30 Fastest-Growing Wealthy Suburbs in America" for 2025. The report examined population changes from 2018 to 2023 among cities and towns in major U.S. metro areas with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 residents. Median household income, average home value, and a "livability score" were also calculated for each locale.

Celina came in at No 2 on the list, with Prosper following one slot behind at No. 3.

The No. 1 fastest-growing wealthy American suburb: Fulshear, 37 miles west of Houston. The report said that the city's population has skyrocketed 237 percent over the last five years.

Celina – located 42 miles north of downtown Dallas – experienced the second most dramatic population increase out of all 30 cities in the report. Though the suburb only has an estimated population of 43,317 residents, that number has ballooned 190 percent during the five-year period.

A Celina resident's median income is $155,875 annually, and the average value of a home in the city comes out to $611,512, the report found.

Celina was the fastest growing city in America in 2023, and the city's growth has also lured many new restaurants and chains.

Meanwhile, Prosper's population grew 81 percent to to an estimated 41,660 people. The city is situated about 37 miles north of Dallas (a short drive away from Celina) where residents earn a prosperous median income of $187,603 a year. The average home in Prosper is worth $823,356, according to the study.

Prosper has definitely lived up to its name over the last five years.Town of Prosper, Texas Government/Facebook

Other Dallas-Fort Worth cities that earned spots in the report include Flower Mound (No. 19), Southlake (No. 27), University Park (No. 28), and Colleyville (No. 29).

"The old adage that everything is bigger in Texas is true, considering the number of Lone Star State suburbs that are quickly growing in population and overall wealth," the report's author wrote.

The top 10 fastest-growing wealthy suburbs in America are:

No. 1 – Fulshear, Texas
No. 2 – Celina, Texas
No. 3 – Prosper, Texas
No. 4 – Erie, Colorado
No. 5 – Clarksburg, Maryland
No. 6 – Zionsville, Indiana
No. 7 – Redmond, Washington
No. 8 – Dublin, California
No. 9 – Parkland, Florida
No. 10 – Eastvale, California

population population growth suburbs reports dallas celina growth prosper