Boom town

This affluent Dallas suburb nails down more home-building permits than Frisco

New home developments are springing up all over Celina.

Facebook/City of Celina

For years, Frisco has been one of the fastest-growing cities in the state and the country. Naturally, a building boom has accompanied that growth.

Now, though, another Dallas suburb is outpacing Frisco in home construction.

Through May 31 this year, Celina issued 1,352 residential building permits, according to a City of Celina news release. By comparison, nearby Frisco issued 1,283 permits during the same five-month period. Put another way, Celina handed out 5.4 percent more residential building permits than Frisco did.

“Celina is positioned geographically, demographically, and economically to quickly become one of the largest communities in North Texas,” the city’s news release says.

Celina — about 40 miles north of Dallas — is also one of the most affluent suburbs.

In January, a ranking from data provider HomeSnacks showed Celina catapulted 11 spots — from No. 14 to No. 3 — on the newest list of Texas’ wealthiest cities. Median household income sits at $124,375, the survey showed, the unemployment rate is 1 percent, and the poverty rate is 0.7 percent.

Projections show Celina’s population eventually will reach 378,000. The city estimates the current population at 28,000. With an estimated population of 209,194, Frisco is about 10 times bigger than Celina.

Celina “is growing at a pace beyond what anyone would have expected,” City Manager Jason Laumer says in the news release. “While we welcome this growth, this city must grow in a way that allows us to maintain our longstanding culture. As Celina grows, the city is committed to guarding the very heart that makes this community the greatest place to live.”

Fueling this growth are projects like the Villages of Uptown, a nearly 700-acre development in Celina that will accommodate 2,500 single-family homes.

home-for-sale

homebuying news

Texas ranks among the top 20 markets for homebuyers under 35

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

In 2025, Texas had more mortgage applicants under 35 years old than any other state in the country, the report found.

The Lone Star State is emerging as a top destination for young adult homebuyers, a new report has confirmed, with nearly 23 percent of all mortgage applications submitted by individuals under 35 years old.

Texas ranked No. 18 in SmartAsset's new study, "Where Young Adults are House Hunting," making it one of the most sought-after U.S. states "where the next generation of homeowners may be gaining the strongest foothold."

To determine where younger Americans are most actively pursuing homeownership, SmartAsset's analysts examined mortgage application data in all 50 states in 2025, and calculated the share of applications filed by buyers younger than 35 relative to all applicants.

A total 259,737 Texas homebuyers under 35 submitted mortgage applications in the last year alone — making Texas the state with the highest number of young adult applications in the country.

California and Florida, respectively, had the second- and third-highest numerical rate of young adult homebuyers with 170,434 and 159,429 applications in each state. But they still ranked at the bottom of the national list with the lowest percentage of young adult applications relative to all applicants in 2025 — at 14.7 and 14.8 percent.

North Dakota leads the nation as the top state for young homeowners with over 28 percent of all mortgage applications in 2025 submitted by homebuyers under 35, making up 6,551 applications.

SmartAsset also revealed something many homeowners might already know: younger Americans are more likely to pursue homeownership in states with lower housing costs.

"In each of the four states with the highest share of mortgage applications from adults younger than 35, the typical home value is less than $300,000: North Dakota (No. 1), West Virginia (No. 2), Nebraska (No. 3) and Iowa (No. 4)," the report's author wrote.

In Texas, the typical home is worth $302,187, which is the 18th highest in the U.S. Meanwhile, West Virginia and Mississippi are the only two states with home values under $200,000, the lowest nationwide.

Young potential homebuyers looking for a home in Dallas need to make about $83,000 to afford a starter home. Many surrounding suburbs also have high appeal for first-time homebuyers, such as McKinney and Plano, which offer a high quality of life for homeowners that want to start a family.

High home prices aren't the only challenges keeping young Americans from becoming homeowners, the report said. Other challenges like high interest rates and limited supply are also plaguing would-be homebuyers.

"According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, nearly 9 in 10 younger Americans say it is harder for them to buy a home than it was for their parents," the report said. "Nonetheless, younger buyers continue to aspire to homeownership, navigating an uneven landscape of affordability and opportunity."

real estate homebuying housing market smartasset reports