Abodo Report

Where Texas millennials are buying homes — and how much they cost

Texas' highest percentage of millennial homebuyers is found in McAllen.

Photos courtesy of Coldwell Banker Residential

For years, the percentage of 18- to 35-year-olds who own homes has been shrinking — by nearly 20 percent between 2005 and 2015. But recently, according to apartment-search site Abodo, millennials have been making progress in becoming homeowners, with a slight uptick in young adult owners between 2014 and 2015.

To be clear, the numbers are still weak — but encouraging nonetheless.

So where, exactly, are these millennial homeowners? According to Abodo's Millennial Homebuyers report, for the most part, they're scattered around the Midwest and South. Of the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country, Ogden-Clearfield, Utah, had the highest percentage of millennials who own: 51 percent. On the other hand, the metro with the lowest percentage is absolutely no surprise: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim with 17.8 percent.

The Lone Star State showed up in the rankings as well: McAllen-Edinburg-Mission in South Texas took fourth place for highest percentage of millennials who own, coming in at just over 43 percent. As a whole, 30.5 percent of millennials are homeowners in the state.

Almost three-quarters of Dallas-Fort Worth’s millennial residents rent. Only 28.7 percent of millennials in DFW own homes, which means that we rank No. 77 out of the top 100 largest metros. The average millennial home value is $200,805, about 85 percent of the area average.

Are millennials in DFW renting because property values are rising rapidly? Most likely.

Other large Texas cities also fall in the middle: San Antonio-New Braunfels comes in at No. 71 for millennial homeownership (29.9 percent), Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land takes No. 74 with 29.1 percent of millennials owning homes, and Austin is No. 89 with 26.5 percent millennial homeowners. This all indicates that renting, not owning, is facilitating much of the explosive population growth to our south.

Despite the fairly low rankings for Texas' largest cities, the state scored well overall, especially when it comes to millennial down payments and home values. It takes Texas millennials an average of seven-and-a-half years to save up a down payment — which, on the whole, is a fantastic number, given that the national average is 15.6 years.

When Abodo measured how much millennial-owned homes cost compared to the average home price in each metro, Texas scored three places in the top 10 for most equal value and had no presence in the bottom 10.

At No. 1 nationwide is El Paso, where the average millennial-owned home cost 104.8 percent of the average area home. San Antonio-New Braunfels came in at No. 3 with 97.1 percent, and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission ranked No. 9 with 90.4 percent.

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property tax news

Dallas nearly tops list of U.S. counties for biggest property tax hike

Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash

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It's time for the dreaded tax season, and Dallas homeowners may be getting sticker shock looking at their property tax bills in 2025: Dallas County property taxes have skyrocketed among the highest levels in the U.S., according to a recent report by information services provider CoreLogic.

The property tax report analyzed the growth in tax rates and housing prices across all 50 states and the most populous U.S. counties.

From 2019 to 2024, Dallas County taxes increased 32.7 percent, or 6.5 percent year-over-year — putting Dallas in the No. 3 position on the list.

No. 1 on the list was Broward County in Florida, home to cities such as Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach, which had the biggest increase in taxes at 56.8 percent.

No. 2 was also in Florida: Miami-Dade County, which endured a 49.5 percent hike in property taxes.

Dallas tied for the No. 3 with San Bernardino County in California, which also had a 32.7 percent increase.

Tarrant County was not far behind Dallas, coming in at No. 11 on the list with a startling 29.3 percent tax hike during the five-year period, the report found.

Property tax hikes follow a similar rise in housing prices, thus putting more pressure on homeowners and first-time homebuyers. The report's findings revealed Texas housing prices have ballooned by 42 percent over the last five years. And there's no sign of relief without changes on the federal level, the report adds.

"While some areas of the country will always be more expensive than others, the national trend toward more expensive properties and greater property tax liabilities is clear," the report said. "Already, the [nation's] tax bills climbed an average of 27 percent from 2019 to 2024. Short of government-led changes, homeowners will continue to contend with rising property taxes year after year."

Higher taxes also have ramifications for renters, who see these costs passed down from landlords in the form of higher rent prices, which may send more renters outside the city in search of more affordable areas.

Property taxes in 2024
In 2024 alone, Dallas residents paid a median $6,409 in property taxes, which is the third most expensive property tax among the most populous U.S. counties. Nearby Fort Worth residents in Tarrant County paid the second most expensive taxes last year, at $6,633.

Some residents east and west of central Dallas saw their property values skyrocket over twice as much than what they were worth in 2023.

According to a state-by-state analysis, Texans paid a median $5,105 in property taxes last year, reflecting a 35.3 percent increase from 2019. Texas' median property tax is far higher than the national median, which came out to $3,018.

As many Texans are aware, it's a high price to pay for not having any income tax and no annual vehicle taxes.

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