Lucky Dallas Homebuyers

The luckiest homebuyers in Dallas live in these neighborhoods

University Park denizens have seen their homes appreciate the most in the last decade, according to Zillow.

Photo courtesy of Briggs Freeman

Many Dallas homeowners are feeling lucky these days, as they’ve watched their home values increase — dramatically, in some cases. But which neighborhoods have seen the greatest appreciation? Zillow researchers answered that question in a recent study.

They analyzed cities with populations over 50,000 to find the country’s luckiest homebuyers — those who bought in the right place at the right time. On the metro level, they looked at towns with populations of 10,000 or more. According to Zillow, the “right time” was the lowest point in the market since the housing crash. The analysis focused on home purchases since January 2006. (Zillow began tracking home values in 2008 but has home value data going back prior to 2006.)

In Dallas, the luckiest neighborhood is University Park, where values have grown 54.6 percent since January 2006, from $808,000 to $1,248,800. Lancaster takes the No. 2 spot, where the right time to buy was September 2012, and houses have appreciated 45.4 percent, from $76,400 to $111,100.

No. 3 is Balch Springs, which has experienced a 44.1 percent increase in home values — $55,800 to $80,400 — since the lowest point in February 2012. Coming in fourth is McKinney, where the right time to buy was November 2011. Values have since risen 40.9 percent, from $167,700 to $236,300.

The fifth luckiest area is Cross Roads in Denton County. Homeowners who bought in August 2011 have seen their values increase 39.7 percent, from $122,300 to $170,900.

Across the nation, most of the luckiest homeowners live in California, as the state claims eight of the top 10 spots: Palo Alto (1), Richmond (2), Pittsburg (3), San Pablo (5), Vallejo (6), Antioch (7), Mountain View (9) and Hayward (10). Leigh Acres in Florida takes the No. 4 spot, and North Las Vegas in Nevada slides in at No. 8.

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homebuyer power play

Dallas declared one of the top 10 buyer's markets in the U.S. right now

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The tide has turned for the Dallas housing market, and buyers now have more power than ever to negotiate on their forever home, a new real estate report has confirmed.

Dallas has now become one of the top 10 strongest buyer's markets in the nation with sellers outnumbering buyers by 107 percent, Redfin's newest market trends report found.

Nationally, sellers outnumbered buyers by 58 percent in August 2026, which Redfin says is the largest gap on record. Out of the 49 most populous metros in the U.S., only five are considered seller's markets, and eight are considered "balanced" markets where the number of buyers and sellers are nearly equal.

That leaves the remaining 36 most populated U.S. metros as buyer's markets, which includes the biggest cities in the Lone Star State. In fact, four Texas cities rank among the 10 strongest buyer's markets in the country right now: Houston (No. 3), San Antonio (No. 6), Austin (No. 7), and Dallas (No. 8).

There were 30,854 sellers on the market in Dallas last month, more than double the amount of buyers (14,865). The market's tilt in favor of house hunters allows more legroom to be picky with the increased supply of available housing, while falling demand indicates less competition with other buyers.

"In most markets, buyers should negotiate on price and ask for concessions like repairs or help with closing costs," said Redfin senior economist Asad Khan. "Buyers shouldn’t assume every seller will budge, especially on a desirable home that’s already priced well, but they don’t need to rush into a deal that doesn’t feel right."

For sellers that want to stand out in a saturated market, Redfin suggests they should price their homes competitively and be prepared to negotiate.

A separate Redfin report found mid-September is the best time for Dallasites to buy a home, but other experts say hesitant shoppers have until early October to take the plunge.

Regardless of the timeline, the report warns that the recent surge of available housing is only beneficial for homebuyers that can afford it.

"High housing costs and widespread economic uncertainty have caused many would-be buyers to back off in recent years, creating the imbalance of buyers and sellers we see today," the report said.

The median price of a home in Dallas came out to $408,561 in August, though 79 percent of all home sales in the city sold for below their original asking price.

The top 10 strongest buyer's markets in the U.S. are:

No. 1 – Nashville, Tennessee
No. 2 – Miami, Florida
No. 3 – Houston, Texas
No. 4 – Orlando, Florida
No. 5 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 6 – San Antonio, Texas
No. 7 – Austin, Texas
No. 8 – Dallas, Texas
No. 9 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 10 – Phoenix, Arizona

"Nashville, Texas, and Florida are home to robust buyer’s markets partly because they have some of the most active homebuilding pipelines in the country, with newly built homes continuing to hit the market even as demand cools," the report said.

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