house hunting

These hot Dallas suburbs deemed best cities for first-time homebuyers

McKinney has the most attractive real estate market in the U.S.

Photo courtesy of City of McKinney

Dallas residents venturing into homeownership may want to take their house hunt to the suburbs, as a new study puts two Dallas neighbors among the best U.S. cities for first-time homebuyers.

Personal finance website WalletHub compared the 300 largest U.S. cities to determine which are the best and worst for folks looking to purchase their first home this year. Charming Dallas neighbor McKinney ranks No. 9 nationally, and just behind it is the growing suburb of Frisco at No. 13.

The site measured each city in three major areas: affordability, real estate market, and quality of life.

McKinney has the nation's No. 1 real estate market, according to WalletHub, which takes into account the rent-to-price ratio, share of homes sold in a year, median home-price appreciation, and more. It ranks 45th in quality of life, which encompasses such metrics as recreation facilities, quality of school system, and job market. However, in terms of affordability (cost of living, housing affordability, cost of homeowner's insurance, real estate tax rate, and more), McKinney ranks 160th.

Frisco is right in line with McKinney, taking the No. 3 spot for its real estate market, 48th for quality of life, and 142nd in affordability.

As for other Texas cities, you'll find them much lower on the overall list. But WalletHub also breaks down the rankings by city size, and Fort Worth, which ranks 52nd overall, is the 10th best large city for first-time buyers.

Dallas takes the No. 44 spot on the large cities list, far better than its 204th overall ranking. It scores best in the real estate market ranking (No. 62), but has much room to improve on affordability (No. 263) and quality of life (No. 173).

Austin performs considerably better at No. 25 among large cities and No. 132 overall, while San Antonio lands at No. 31 among large cities and smack-dab in the middle at No. 150 overall. Houston, meanwhile, ranks among the worst cities for first-time homebuyers at No. 242 overall and No. 50 on the large cities list.

The Lone Star State's suburbs shine brightest, with spots like Richardson, Allen, and Denton dominating the real estate market category nationwide.

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