Budget-friendly abodes

5 Dallas-Fort Worth cities raise the roof as top places for affordable homes

This charming five-bedroom home in Arlington is listed for just $348,300.

Photo courtesy of Realtor.com

Good news for bargain-minded homebuyers: Five of the best 25 big cities in the United States to buy an affordable family home are right here in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Personal finance website SmartAsset analyzed data for 100 of the largest U.S. cities to come up with its list of the top 25 cities for purchasing an affordable family home. Arlington ranked sixth in the country, claiming the No. 1 spot in DFW. Plano came in at No. 7, Garland at No. 12, Fort Worth at No. 16, and Irving at No. 22.

Chesapeake, Virginia, ranked first overall.

Other Texas cities in the top 25 were El Paso (No. 14), Laredo (No. 15), Lubbock (No. 19), and Corpus Christi (No. 23).

SmartAsset published its study July 8.

Data that SmartAsset considered for the ranking included percentage of homes with at least two bedrooms, five-year change in homeownership rate, down-payment-to-income ratio, housing costs as a share of income, and high school graduation rate.

Arlington ranked 15th best overall for its down-payment-to-income ratio, at 0.60. In other words, a 20 percent down payment on the median-value home in the city makes up only 60 percent of the median household income. Arlington also ranked in the top 15 for housing costs as a percentage of income (21.93 percent) and high school graduation rate (90.5 percent).

Ranking and review website Niche.com puts Arlington at No. 45 on its list of the best places to buy a house in the U.S. and ranks it 11th among the most diverse U.S. cities. Realtor.com praises Arlington as a “thriving city” cozily situated between Dallas and Fort Worth.

Plano, the other Texas city in the top 10, scored especially well on a couple of fronts, according to SmartAsset’s analysis. Data shows 96.8 percent of students in Plano graduate from high school, the highest number for any city in the study. In addition, Plano ranked well for low rates of property crimes and violent crimes.

Niche.com ranks Plano as the fourth best city to buy a house in the country and the fifth best city to live in the U.S. Home improvement website BobVila.com lauds Plano as one of the 12 best cities for first-time homebuyers, describing the city as “a sprawling financial and commercial hub … with vast parkland and an eclectic food scene.”

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Moving north

Once-sleepy North Texas town lands $1.5B development built around farm

Facebook/Anna

Anna is a fast-growing city north of Dallas.

The fast-growing Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Anna, once a small farming community, is poised for even more population growth with the addition of a $1.5 billion master-planned community.

Real estate investment firm Tellus Group broke ground Wednesday, March 25, on the more than 970-acre project, called Sherley Farms. Tellus is marketing the development, located in Collin County, as a wellness-focused, master-planned community with about 3,000 homes and an actively managed organic farm.

First-phase homebuilders are Bloomfield Homes, DRB Homes, Drees Custom Homes, Highland Homes, Homebound, Olivia Clarke Homes, and Perry Homes. The initial model homes will be finished in the spring of 2027.

The Sherley Farms site is five minutes from U.S. Highway 75 and near downtown Anna, which ranked fifth among U.S. cities for population growth from 2023 to 2024. As of July 1, 2024, Anna’s population stood at 31,986, up 14.6 percent from the same date in 2024 and up 183 percent from 2016. Anna’s population is projected to hit 100,000 by 2050.

One standout aspect of the project will be a 65-acre organic farm that supplies fresh produce. Tellus says the “working” farm will serve as an “agricultural anchor and gathering place.”

“Sherley Farms reflects our belief that the future of community development is rooted in wellness, connection, and a deep respect for the land,” says Craig Martin, founding partner and CEO of Tellus Group.

Facebook/Sherley Farms

Anna started as a farming community in 1883. But in recent years, it has transformed into a rapidly growing suburb with more than 7,700 households as of 2024.

Aside from homes, the first phase of Sherley Farms will include an amenity center with a resort-style pool and a portion of the planned green space.

“Sherley Farms is a meaningful investment in Anna’s future, expanding our tax base, attracting new residents, and driving long-term economic growth,” says Kevin Toten, Anna’s mayor pro tem. “This project will generate new economic activity, support local businesses, and strengthen Anna’s position as a destination for high-quality development in North Texas.”

In addition to Sherley Farms, Tellus is developing the Mosaic master-planned community in Celina, the Mirabella gated community in Prosper, and the Meraki master-planned community in Forney. Tellus was the principal developer of the $3 billion Windsong Ranch master-planned community in Prosper.

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