The roofs are on fire

Fast-growing Dallas neighbor takes title as No. 1 U.S. housing market, report says

Frisco is growing, and homes are flying off the market.

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At least by one measure, the Dallas-area housing market is 100-degrees-in-the-summer hot.

A study released August 24 by personal finance website WalletHub ranks four North Texas cities among the 10 most attractive real estate markets in the U.S. Frisco grabs the No. 1 spot, with McKinney at No. 4, Denton at No. 5, and Allen at No. 6.

The only other Texas market in the top 10 is second-ranked Austin.

Looking in particular at Frisco, its placement atop the WalletHub ranking stems in large part from its eye-popping population growth. At a rate of 71 percent, Frisco was the fastest-growing large U.S. city from 2010 to 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Today, Frisco’s population exceeds 208,000.

Frisco remains one of the most active cities in DFW in terms of home construction. Through May 31, there were 1,283 residential building permits (not quite as many as nearby Celina).

To determine the most attractive real estate markets, WalletHub compared 300 cities across 18 key metrics. The data ranges from appreciation of median home price to job growth.

The Dallas-Fort Worth real estate market “is doing great after recovering from the blows of the pandemic since July of last year. Demand for single-family homes has risen and supply has lagged since the second half of last year,” according to Norada Real Estate Investments.

Highlighting the hotness of the DFW market, Norada notes that the region’s supply of available homes stood at 1.1 months in the second quarter, and that the median home price climbed 22.4 percent to $349,381.

“2021 has represented a year of strengths in many financial areas. The stock market and bank account balances are up, while unemployment and interest rates are low. These factors represent ideal conditions for the housing market, and as long as we continue to see shortages in housing inventory, we should still see an ideal environment for housing growth,” Job Hammond, secretary-treasurer of the Austin Board of Realtors and an adjunct professor at Austin Community College, tells WalletHub.

Here are the 10 most attractive real estate markets in the country, as judged by WalletHub.

Frisco
Austin
Gilbert, Arizona
McKinney
Denton
Allen
Durham, North Carolina
Reno, Nevada
Roseville, California
Nashville, Tennessee

lists rankings

Real Estate News

Dallas real estate developer pleads guilty to bribing 2 city officials

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Dallas developer Sherman Roberts

Dallas real estate developer Sherman Roberts pleaded guilty on November 12 to conspiracy to commit bribery, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Roberts, 70, who previously helmed City Wide Community Development Corporation, was indicted in December 2020. According to court documents, Sherman bribed two city council members — Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway and City Council member Carolyn Davis — to support loans and low-income housing tax credits for his apartment projects.

In return for several thousand dollars in cash – plus the promise of future payments after her city council tenure ended – Davis lobbied for Roberts' real estate projects, including Serenity Place, Runyon Springs, and Patriot’s Crossing.

She promoted Serenity Place to the City Housing Committee, demanded other developers also seeking real estate funding withdraw their applications in order to increase Roberts' chances of success, recommended Serenity Place receive a 9 percent low income housing tax credit, and voted to approve a $1.9 million loan from the city of Dallas.

“Right now you and me are making money,” Roberts texted Davis shortly after the vote.

Later, she repeatedly reached out to ask for more money — "just a few dollars" — and he agreed.

Davis and Roberts then met with Caraway to address a problem with the Patriot's Crossing project. In return for several hundred dollars cash and a $2,000 monthly stipend, Caraway agreed to stop the city from issuing a request for proposal (RFP) for the Patriots Crossing project and to deliver the project for Roberts.

“How much is the project worth?” Mayor Pro Tem Caraway asked. “Once you’re successful with this project, don’t forget about me.”

“I won’t forget about you,” Mr. Roberts responded. “That’s where the money is… the money has never been an issue.”

Roberts now faces up to five years in federal prison. He is slated to be sentenced on March 12, 2025.

Caraway pleaded guilty in 2019 to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and tax evasion and was sentenced to more than four years in federal prison.

Davis pleaded guilty in 2019 to conspiracy to commit bribery concerning an agent of a local government receiving federal benefits, but passed away in a car crash before she could be sentenced.

Roberts was one of three real estate developers charged in connection with the bribery scandal. Devin Hall, the developer behind the Grand Park Place apartment project, pleaded guilty in August 2020. Ruel Hamilton, the AmeriSouth Realty Group executive who backed the Royal Crest housing project, is awaiting retrial on conspiracy and bribery charges.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of IRS – Criminal Investigation’s Dallas Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcus Busch is prosecuting the case with the help of Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna Max.