A buyer's market?

Dallas-area home prices aren't on the rise, according to this surprising report

Good news for buyers: The median listing price in Dallas isn't rising.

Photo courtesy of Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate

Is the local market cooling down? A new report from Trulia ranks Dallas among 10 U.S. markets where list prices have stalled — or even fallen — over the past year.

The real estate site used information from "Trulia Data Central" to identify "cool markets and give some context around the sluggish price performance," according to a release. In total, four Texas metros appear on the list: two with price decreases — San Antonio and Austin — and two with prices that stalled — Houston and Dallas.

Dallas-Plano-Irving appears at No. 8 on the list, with a median listing price up only 0.5 percent from last year. Currently, the median listing price is $356,999, up $1,671 from $355,328 in March 2017.

But, before we dare call it a cold market, Trulia's managing editor David Weidner offers a little insight into the stalled pricing and reminds that home values are still on the rise.

"First, Texas home values continue to rise. That means if you have a home in Texas, its value is appreciating," he tells CultureMap. "Second, Texas metros are building at some of the fastest rates in the country. The new housing is priced roughly at levels of a year ago, suggesting that new supply is keeping up with demand."

While prices may be flat, home values in the Dallas area are appreciating like crazy, up 15.14 percent year-over-year to $247,130. Trulia says Dallas is the leader of the Texas building boom and notes that "Dallas’ willingness to build is offsetting any demand pressure in the market."

Houston comes in right ahead of Dallas at No. 7 on the list. The median listing price there is $299,520, up just $1,216 from March 2017. Home values are up 5.42 percent year-over-year to $196,155.

San Antonio and Austin take the No. 1 and 2 spots on the list, with median listing prices down 5 percent and 3 percent, respectively. Like elsewhere in Texas, values are on the rise. Home values in San Antonio are up almost 7 percent year-over-year; in Austin, they're up more than 5 percent since March 2017.

No Cap

Dallas was a top-10 destination for Gen Zers on the move for 2023

Photo by Lance Asper on Unsplash

Who wouldn't want to live in a Gen Z paradise like Dallas?

As Gen Z enters adulthood, many are flocking to the nation's biggest cultural hubs like New York City, Los Angeles — and now Dallas, which had the ninth-highest inflow of Gen Zers in 2023.

Dallas' new reputation as a Gen Z hotspot was unveiled in a recent report by American home improvement brand This Old House, which analyzed migration trends across multiple generations using 2023 U.S. Census Bureau data.

Dallas saw an influx of 13,770 Gen Z residents last year to become the generation's No. 9 most popular city. That's 4,223 more Gen Zers than the net migration rate from 2022, the report found.

Real estate marketplace Zillow seems to agree on a statewide scale, declaring Texas as the No. 1 destination for Gen Zers on the move in 2024.

However, as Gen Z Dallasites may have learned, it's going to take a big bite out of their paychecks to live in such a highly sought after city. A March RentCafe housing cost analysis predicted Gen Z adults living in Dallas are likely to spend over $149,000 on rent by the time they are 30 years old.

While Dallas saw big gains in its Gen Z population last year, many other big cities saw a mass exodus. Plano, for example — which gained 1,295 Gen Z residents in 2022 — lost 4,028 Gen Zers in 2023, the report discovered.

The biggest Gen-Z exodus was in El Paso, with a drop of 5,607 — "a sharp turn from 2022 when the city saw an increase," the report said. "Other cities, including Plano, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; McKinney, Texas; and Wichita, Kansas, are seeing similar declines."

"Gen X, baby boomers, and the Silent Generation are also moving away from major cities, particularly New York City and Washington, D.C.," the report said. "They’re heading to some of the same cities as Gen Z, including Houston and Jacksonville, Florida."

The top 10 cities that gained the most Gen Z residents in 2023 are:

No. 1 – New York City, New York
No. 2 – Los Angeles, California
No. 3 – Houston, Texas
No. 4 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
No. 5 – Chicago, Illinois
No. 6 – San Diego, California
No. 7 – Seattle, Washington
No. 8 – Charlotte, North Carolina
No. 9 – Dallas, Texas
No. 10 – Minneapolis, Minnesota

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