Move On

The surprising reasons why people move in Dallas-Fort Worth

People are making moves in DFW.

Photo courtesy of Opendoor

Spring has traditionally been the best and most popular time to sell your home in Dallas, but contracts tend to keep flying through the summer. Once fall and winter hit, however, things tend to slow down and seasonality sets in. In fact, 60 percent of people who buy or sell across the country do so before August, and we see much of the same in DFW.

With the traditional homeselling season in DFW having just come to a close, Opendoor has brand-new, fresh data on why local homeowners chose to sell in the first place. During the peak spring and summer months (February-August), Opendoor helped tens of thousands of local homeowners move on to the next chapter in their lives.

The top five were fairly predictable, but it's the percentages that tell the real story. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed, or 22 percent, said they moved to upgrade (meaning they needed more space or probably didn't want to take on DIY home repairs and renovation projects). One of the benefits of selling with Opendoor is that the company will take care of those upgrade projects for you, saving untold hours related to finding workers and supervising home repairs, and saving you from having to splash out tons of cash on the home before putting it on the market.

An equal number of people (22 percent) moved because they wanted to downsize to a smaller home, while 9 percent said they were retiring.

Six percent said they were selling an investment property, and in cases like those, Opendoor is an ideal way to handle the transaction: less involvement needed on the seller's part, with Opendoor handling everything from start to finish.

Only 14 percent moved because they were relocating, and in those cases, Opendoor's quick offer is especially valuable. To sell your home through Opendoor, you need only answer a few questions about your home's condition, features, and upgrades, and then you'll get a guaranteed offer back within 24 hours.

Likewise, the 10 percent who sold because they needed the cash probably also appreciated the quick turnaround and lack of hassle when it comes to dealing with showings and repairs.

Opendoor is the largest acquirer of single-family homes in both Dallas and the U.S. Because of that status, the company is able to look at its volume of homes, ask consumers directly about their needs and wants, and track trends to keep Dallas buyers and sellers in the loop on what they need to know about the market.

Thinking about all the reasons why you personally want to move? Visit Opendoor.com to browse the huge selection of Dallas-Fort Worth homes, or learn more about selling your home through Opendoor's painless process.

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Bang for Buck

Surprising Dallas neighbor unlocks biggest apartments in DFW for $1,500

Photo courtesy of RentCafe

Mesquite has the biggest apartments on a budget in DFW.

Budget-conscious renters searching for the roomiest apartments in the region should look no further than Mesquite. According to a new study, the Dallas suburb boasts the most bang for your buck in terms of space in North Texas.

In 2026, Mesquite residents can rent just shy of 1,000 square feet (a 988-square-foot apartment) for $1,500 per month. That's eight square feet more than what they could get with the same budget last year.

RentCafe's annual report analyzes the places where renters can find the largest apartment sizes across 200 of the most populous U.S. cities for a monthly budget of $1,500. The price per square foot was calculated using the average apartment rent and size per city based on "multifamily properties" containing 50 or more units.

Mesquite offers the most spacious apartment size in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex for $1,500, and the city boasts the 10th biggest apartments in Texas on that budget.

Elsewhere in the area, Denton saw the second biggest leap in apartment size nationwide since 2025, the report found. Renters there could lease an 835-square-foot apartment for $1,500 last year, and that has jumped to 862 square feet in 2026.

Dallas renters, on the other hand, will only net an 803-square-foot apartment for the same monthly cost, which is down 11 square feet from last year. Dallas ranks third from the bottom in the statewide list of cities that offer the largest apartments for the $1,500 price tag, with Frisco and Austin ranking even lower. Apartment hunters in Frisco will get only 798 square feet for $1,500.

Here's how much space you can get for $1,500 elsewhere in Dallas-Fort Worth this year, from largest to smallest:

Arlington – 927 square feet
Garland – 924 square feet
Fort Worth – 913 square feet
McKinney – 885 square feet
Grand Prairie – 873 square feet
Irving – 859 square feet
Plano – 820 square feet

Apartment sizes across Texas
For the second year in a row, South Texas is the region that has the most spacious apartments for a $1,500 monthly budget, RentCafe found.

McAllen leads the nation with the biggest apartment size – at 1,378 square feet – which is large enough for a three- or four-bedroom unit.

"With rents averaging just $993 and the typical apartment measuring 912 square feet, McAllen renters get a lot more space for their money than most Americans do within that monthly budget," the report said. "Still, that figure is down slightly from last year’s 1,393 square feet — a sign that even the most affordable markets are starting to tighten."

McAllen neighbor Brownsville ranks fourth statewide with apartments spanning 1,213 square feet for the same budget.

These are the top 10 Texas cities that offer the biggest apartments for $1,500 in 2026:

No. 1 – McAllen (1,378 square feet)
No. 2 – Amarillo (1,237 square feet)
No. 3 – Lubbock (1,217 square feet)
No. 4 – Brownsville (1,213 square feet)
No. 5 – El Paso (1,128 square feet)
No. 6 – Pasadena (1,125 square feet)
No. 7 – Corpus Christi (1,115 square feet)
No. 8 – Killeen (1,058 square feet)
No. 9 – San Antonio (1,023 square feet)
No. 10 – Mesquite (988 square feet)

real estate apartments housing rentcafe study dallas fort worth mesquite arlington frisco denton