shore thing

Charming Texas Gulf Coast community named one of the most affordable beach towns in U.S.

Rockport is one of the best beach town values in the U.S.

Photo by Cissy Beasley via Visit Rockport Fulton

Here's some welcome news for Dallasites in search of a beach house that won't break the bank: A new report from Realtor.com says a popular Texas coastal town is among the most affordable in the country.

Rockport, Texas, a coastal community about a six-hour drive from Dallas, lands at No. 7 on Realtor.com’s new list of most affordable beach towns in the country. The charming Gulf Coast town’s average home list price is $435,112.

Rockport is popular for its “clean beaches, fantastic fishing, and world-class birdwatching,” the report says.

Rockport offers 10 different sites on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, which boasts the planet’s sole migrating flock of over 265 whooping cranes, which passes through the Aransas Wildlife Refuge every winter.

In Rockport, waterfront homes start in the mid $400,000s, the report notes, with standouts including a $449,000 two-bedroom townhouse with lovely views of the Aransas Bay and a three-story, two-bedroom house on Mustang Island on the market for $599,900.

To generate the list, Realtor.com’s team surveyed the median home list prices of more than 1,300 towns located across America’s coastlines from May 2021 through April 2022. These areas had at least 30 homes for sale in April (not including pending transactions), the report adds.

Properties must actually be on the water and not just nearby to qualify for the list, and be “more than just a strip of sand and surf” and have diverse entertainment. Rockport is 18 miles from Port Aransas and 30 miles from Corpus Christi.

“The U.S. has over 95,000 miles of shorelines,” George Ratiu, manager of economic research at Realtor.com, noted in the list. “But most people, when they think of beach towns, they focus on a few dozen destinations. However, there are a lot of hidden gems, which offer all the benefits of seaside living at a much lower price.”

America’s cheapest beach town, according to Realtor.com, is Atlantic City, New Jersey, with a median list price of $161,754. Tiverton, Rhode Island is the priciest of the cheap deals, with a median home price of $480,262.

Here’s the full list, per Realtor.com.

1. Atlantic City, New Jersey
Median list price: $161,754

2. Deerfield Beach, Florida
Median list price: $230,071

3. New London, Connecticut
Median list price: $242,392

4. Mastic Beach, New York
Median list price: $334,907

5. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Median list price: $347,875

6. Seal Beach, California
Median list price: $400,338

7. Rockport, Texas
Median list price: $435,112

8. Lynn, Massachusetts
Median list price: $449,626

9. Morehead City, North Carolina
Median list price: $464,842

10. Tiverton, Rhode Island
Median list price: $480,262

lists reports home-for-sale rankings

renter news

Dallas sees dramatic surge in number of senior renters in last decade

A senior couple inspecting a potential house rental

Getty Images

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New U.S. Census data has revealed a startling trend regarding Dallas' renter population: The number of renters aged 65 and older has surged 66.5 percent over the last decade. There are more than 78,000 seniors currently renting their homes across Dallas-Fort Worth.

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington saw the fifth-highest growth rate in senior renters nationwide from 2013 to 2023, according to a new renter population study by Point2Homes.

The report analyzed the latest Census data for renters across every age demographic in the 75 biggest U.S. metros. Nationally, the number of senior renters has increased by 2.4 million people over the last decade.

DFW also ranked as the metro with the second-highest growth rate in senior renters statewide, and it experienced the No. 1 highest numerical change in renters aged 65-plus in Texas.

Austin-Round Rock claimed the No. 1 spot with an 81.1 percent increase in senior renters statewide from 2013-2023, though the Texas Capital added only 23,446 senior renters (far fewer than DFW) during that time.

Furthermore, the number of seniors renting single-family homes in Dallas-Fort Worth has more than doubled in the last 10 years, representing a 100.8 percent increase since 2013. DFW's growth fell second only to Omaha-Council Bluffs, Nebraska-Iowa, whose growth rate for senior single-family home renters increased by 103.5 percent.

"Omaha’s affordability and senior-friendly rental options are attractive to retirees, while rising property taxes and home prices in Dallas and Austin may be prompting older homeowners to consider renting," the report's author wrote.

The report adds that these seniors are shifting their priorities and "stepping away from the burdens of homeownership" in order to live closer to family, downsize, or cut costs to simplify their standard of living.

"A Harris Poll survey showed that the older crowd now has a lower threshold for interest rates when buying, meaning they’re more sensitive to the financial burden of a mortgage," the report's author wrote. "Downsizing from larger family homes, avoiding costs and upkeep tied to ownership, and prioritizing proximity to family or medical services are also among potential motivators for renting."

Point2Homes also points out that this "senior renter boom" can be linked to the (oddly named) trend of elderly "baby chasers," meaning grandparents who choose to relocate to be closer to their grandchildren.

Senior renter demographics in Dallas-Fort Worth
The report also analyzed Dallas-Fort Worth's share of renters based on age group. Predictably, the highest share (30.6 percent) of DFW's renter population is between the ages of 25-34, with the second highest share (20.7 percent) falling to residents aged between 35-44.

Only 9.4 percent of Dallas' entire renter population is between the ages of 55-64, while 9.6 percent are seniors aged 65 and up. The metro's youngest demographic of renters, aged 18-24, only make up 16.4 percent of all DFW renters. That leaves the remaining 13.4 percent of Dallas renters falling into the 45-54 age bracket.

Senior renters in other Texas metros
Austin-Round Rock had the third-highest growth rate in senior renters from 2013-2023 in the U.S., while Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land ranked 8th nationally with a 60.3 percent increase in senior renters.

The Houston metro gained 63,749 senior renters during that time period, which was the fourth highest numerical increase nationwide.

San Antonio-New Braunfels ranked No. 62 out of all 75 U.S. metros with only a 24 percent increase in senior renters from 2013-2023, and the metro gained 11,257 senior renters.

The top 10 U.S. metros that had the highest increases in senior renters over the last decade are:

No. 1 – Baton Rouge, Louisiana (88.7 percent)
No. 2 – Jacksonville, Florida (83.7 percent)
No. 3 – Austin-Round Rock, Texas (81.1 percent)
No. 4 – New Orleans-Metairie, Louisiana (69.7 percent)
No. 5 – Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (66.5 percent)
No. 6 – Raleigh, North Carolina (63.5 percent)
No. 7 – Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut (60.4 percent)
No. 8 – Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas (60.3 percent)
No. 9 – Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida (54.1 percent)
No. 10 – Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, North Carolina-South Carolina (53.5 percent)

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