New neighbors

3 new developments add 456 'starter' homes to booming Dallas suburb

Wolf Creek Farms offers two series of homes including nine floorplans.

Photo courtesy of Meritage

A building boom of new homes is beginning in one fast-growing Collin County city: Meritage Homes is building a total of 456 homes across three new communities in Melissa.

The developments will accommodate the continuing influx of new residents into Collin County, whose population shot up by 36 percent from 2010 to 2020. Melissa, about 40 miles north of Dallas, has shared in that growth. Its population in 2020 stood at 13,901, up a whopping 196 percent from 2010.

The three new Meritage communities in the Melissa area are Wolf Creek Farms, The Quarry at Stoneridge, and Bryant Farms. All are in the fast-growing Melissa ISD.

The homes are touted as affordable "starter homes," "ideal" for first-time buyers, with prices starting in the $440,000s (though pricing for one of the three has not yet been announced). According to Redfin, the median selling price in Melissa is $580,000.

Here are key details about the three communities:

Wolf Creek Farms. 248 homes ranging from 1,833 square feet to 3,331 square feet. Prices start in the $440,000s. Amenities will include a 10-acre lake, covered pavilion, trails, playground, greenbelt, and dog park.
The Quarry at Stoneridge. 133 homes ranging from 1,833 square feet to 3,100 square feet. Prices start in the $460,000s. Amenities will include a pond, greenbelt, gazebo, “tot lot,” and paved hike-and-bike trails.
Bryant Farms. 75 homes ranging from 1,475 to 2,255 square feet. Pricing information is not available yet. Amenities will include open spaces, hike-and-bike trails, and a playground.

“With demand for new homes increasing among first-time buyers who want to escape escalating rents, Meritage Homes offers an entry-level line of homes that provide upgraded features today’s homeowners want — granite countertops, kitchen islands, home automation features as well as upgraded cabinets, laundry rooms, and appliances,” the homebuilder says in the release.

Each home will be built with energy- and money-saving features, they say, including spray-foam insulation, Energy Star-certified appliances, Low-E windows, and an efficient multispeed HVAC system, as well as smart door locks, door sensors and motion detectors, USB outlets, and advanced thermostats.

Presales for Wolf Creek Farms and The Quarry at Stoneridge will start in June. Bryant Farms is expected to open for sales in early 2023.

“We’re excited to offer buyers in Melissa industry-leading, energy-efficient, quick move-in homes with amenities that will make you never want to leave,” says Austin Woffinden, division president for Meritage Homes in Dallas-Fort Worth in a statement. “Wolf Creek Farms, The Quarry at Stoneridge, and Bryant Farms are ideal for homebuyers who are looking for affordability and quality in Melissa.”

Wolf Creek Farms offers two series of homes including nine floorplans.

Photo courtesy of Meritage

Wolf Creek Farms offers two series of homes including nine floorplans.

home-for-sale

affordability news

Texans need to make nearly 6 figures to buy a home in 2025, per report

Photo by Kostiantyn Li on Unsplash

Texans that aren't making about $99,000 a year may have a tough time buying a home this year, the report discovered.

A recent report analyzing the minimum income it takes to buy a home across America has revealed Texans have it easier than residents of other states, but the dream may still feel unattainable for many.

Potential homebuyers need to make at least $99,000 to buy a home in Texas in 2025, according to the analysis from Realtor.com.

To determine the minimum income a local resident would need to make to buy a home in their own state, Realtor.com calculated each state's "affordability gap" by finding the difference in the actual annual income from the minimum recommended income to afford a median-priced home as of July 2025. The report also determined the percentage difference between the affordability gap figure and state's median actual income.

Texas joined 18 other states where the minimum income required to purchase a home is just under the six-figure range.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in Texas is $75,780, which means the affordability gap for a potential Texas homebuyer adds up to more than $23,000. That also means that the minimum income required to buy a Texas home this year is roughly 30 percent higher than the state's actual median income.

Though the report didn't give any data on the median list price of a Texas home in July, Realtor.com said the median list price of a home in Dallas-Fort Worth was $439,900 last month. July's median list price was 2.2 percent lower year-over-year from July 2024.

"Even as the summer housing market is gradually turning more buyer-friendly, the typical American still does not earn enough to keep up with monthly mortgage payments without becoming house-poor," the report's author wrote. "However, the degree of unaffordability varies widely across states. Overall, it has moderately edged down compared with the end of last year."

Elsewhere in the U.S., Iowa is the No. 1 most affordable state for homebuyers in 2025, Realtor.com says, with residents needing to make at least $76,422 to afford a median-priced home in the state. The median list price for an Iowa home in July came out to $289,938, and the median income of an Iowa household is just under $76,000, making Iowa's affordability gap the smallest out of all 50 states at only $431.

"In other words, investing in a median-priced home in Iowa would require spending just a little over the target 30 percent on housing, still leaving plenty of cash in the bank to cover other necessities," the report said.

Realtor.com's top 10 most affordable states for homebuyers in 2025, plus the minimum income needed to afford a median-priced home, are:

No. 1 – Iowa ($76,422)
No. 2 – Illinois ($85,196)
No. 3 – Kansas ($74,030)
No. 4 – Ohio ($76,425)
No. 5 – Indiana ($81,565)
No. 6 – Pennsylvania ($85,662)
No. 7 – Missouri ($81,973)
No. 8 – West Virginia ($71,167)
No. 9 – Minnesota ($105,169)
No. 10 – Michigan ($83,542)

On the opposite end, Montana is the No. 1 least affordable state for homebuyers with an affordability gap surpassing $99,000. The median income of a Montana household is only $72,066 a year, and the median list price of a home in the state was $649,900 in July. The report then determined that a Montana resident would need to make more than $171,000 to afford that median-priced home.

"To put it differently, a would-be homebuyer in Montana would require a 138 percent raise to comfortably afford a home in the state at the current mortgage interest rate of 6.72 percent," the report said.

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