Home run

2 Dallas neighbors welcomed among best cities for first-time homebuyers

There are many great reasons to buy a home in Frisco.

Photo courtesy of Ebby Halliday Realtors

When you’re a first-time buyer, looking for a place to call home can be daunting — finding the perfect place, scraping together a down payment, qualifying for a mortgage, and so on. But if you’re hunting for a house in Frisco or McKinney, the task might be considerably more pleasant.

A new study from personal financial website WalletHub ranks Frisco as the seventh best city in the U.S. for first-time homebuyers and puts McKinney at No. 8.

Christie Cannon, a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty in Frisco, says first-time buyers are drawn to the suburb by its outstanding neighborhoods, plentiful parks, and easy access to Dallas-Fort Worth amenities.

“The first-time homebuyers see the ample opportunity and growth potential offered by the area businesses as well as a strong and highly acclaimed school system,” Cannon adds. “While housing in the area has gone up, there are still plenty of affordable opportunities in Frisco neighborhoods, with prices ranging from the $200s all the way up to over $1 million.”

To determine the most favorable housing markets for first-time buyers, WalletHub measured 27 key metrics in 300 cities of varying sizes. Those metrics include housing affordability, property tax rates, and crime rates.

McKinney got a big boost from being named the top real estate market among the 300 cities reviewed by WalletHub, with Frisco at No. 2.

Jane Clark, a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty in McKinney, points out that the suburb consistently performs well in rankings of the best places to live in the U.S., based on factors such as housing affordability, education, safety, and health care.

McKinney, she says, “is an extraordinary place to live and work.”

Above Frisco and McKinney in the rankings were Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, claiming the No. 1 spot, followed by Tampa, Florida; Centennial, Colorado; Boise, Idaho; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Thornton, Colorado. In last place, at No. 300, was Berkeley, California.

Here’s how other Texas cities fared in the WalletHub study:

Allen, No. 16
Plano, No. 52
Grand Prairie, No. 53
Richardson, No. 62
Denton, No. 66
Carrollton, No. 80
Austin, No. 117
Irving, No. 132
San Antonio, No. 136
Fort Worth, No. 149
Dallas, No. 195
Mesquite, No. 213
Arlington, No. 228
Houston, No. 269

wallethub rankings

bang for your buck

These are the 10 most affordable ZIP codes for Dallas-area renters

Photo by Jenifer McNeil Baker for Greystar

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Buying a home in Dallas is difficult enough to afford these days, and doubly so if you're already paying high rent on an apartment or a house. But there are 10 Dallas-Fort Worth ZIP codes where renters can get the most bang for their buck, according to a new study by financial services company CashNetUSA.

To find the most affordable ZIP codes to rent in the U.S., analysts compared median household incomes by ZIP code to the average annual rent costs using the Zillow Observed Rent Index. ZIP codes where the average annual rental costs required the lowest percentage of median household income were considered the "most affordable."

Two Dallas suburbs and their ZIP codes specifically stood out in CashNetUSA's ranking of the most affordable ZIPs for renters across the Metroplex: 75013 in Allen (No. 1) and 75033 in Frisco (No. 2).

According to the study's findings, the average monthly cost of a rental in Allen comes out to $1,716.45, and the median annual income of an Allen household is $145,220. Analysts then calculated that the annual rent of a home in the Allen ZIP code only takes up 14.18 percent of a household's median income, which is the No. 1 lowest in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Allen was recently named one of the best small cities to live in, with a scorching hot real estate market to match its thriving popularity and growth.

In Frisco's 75033 ZIP, annual rent costs only represent 14.89 percent of a household's median annual income. The area – which encompasses the Meadow Hill Estates, Preston Highlands North, Christie Ranch, Newman Village, Shaddock Creek Estates, and Collin neighborhoods – has a median household income of $149,525, and average rent costs add up to $1,855.49, according to the study.

Meanwhile, Dallas' own 75214 ZIP code ranked No. 8 in the metro-wide ranking of most affordable ZIPs for renters. This area consists of several established Dallas neighborhoods, including Northeast Dallas, Wilshire Heights, Lakewood, Lakewood Hills, Junius Heights, and Munger Place.

The median annual income for a household in 75214 comes out to $104,583, and the average rental costs $1,669.40 per month. That means annual rent payments account for 19.15 percent of a household's median income, according to the study.

The seven other ZIPs that make up the top 10 most affordable ZIP codes for renters in Dallas-Fort Worth include:

No. 3 – 76248 in Keller
No. 4 – 76085 in Weatherford
No. 5 – 76262 in Roanoke
No. 6 – 75078 in Prosper
No. 7 – 75048 in Sachse
No. 9 – 75077 in Highland Village
No. 10 – 75093 in Plano

Top ZIP codes for renters in the U.S.
CashNetUSA found the No. 1 most affordable ZIP code for renters nationwide is 66224 in Leawood, Kansas, where annual rent only takes a 10.57 percent cut out of a household's median annual income.

Elsewhere in Texas, San Antonio's 78248 ZIP ranked as the No. 4 most affordable ZIP code for renters in the U.S., and the No. 1 most affordable ZIP code statewide.

Two Houston-area ZIP codes – 77401 and 77094 – ranked No. 9 and No. 12 nationally, while Allen's 75013 ZIP code fell two spots behind to claim the No. 14 spot.

frisco suburbs zip codes rent