Snow In Texas

$215 million resort will bring world's longest indoor ski run to North Texas

If all goes according to plan, the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie will have a grand new addition in 2018. Dubbed The Grand Alps, the $215 million development is an indoor ski resort and hotel that will sit on a massive, 350,000-square-foot property off Interstate 30 and Belt Line Road.

The City of Grand Prairie announced the news in an October 14 release, detailing the artificial winter wonderland that will soon await paying customers.

There will be beginner, intermediate and expert ski runs, in addition to ice climbing, luge track and Olympic half pipe.

A snow dome will house the longest indoor ski run in the world, which will be more than 1,900 feet in length. There will be beginner, intermediate and expert runs, in addition to ice climbing, luge track, Olympic half pipe and snowboard courses, and general snow play areas.

The ski resort will be integrated with a Four Diamond Hard Rock Hotel and Restaurant. The hotel will contain 300 rooms, two restaurants, retail stores, and a rooftop pool and deck capable of hosting live music events. Within two years, the developer must build a second hotel or double capacity.

In the release, Grand Alps Resort co-chairman Sherman Thurston called the Hard Rock Hotel "the icing on the slopes."

"The Grand Alps will be a summertime favorite for Texans who want to escape the summer heat and enjoy a usually seasonal only sport," Thurston said.

Construction on the hotel and ski facility is slated to begin in January 2015, with hopes of opening in 2018. According to the release, the City of Grand Prairie's investment includes the land and very generous tax breaks, including 100 percent real estate tax abatement for seven years and 75 percent hotel tax rebate for 10 years.

The city estimates more than 1.3 million annual visitors to the venue and the creation of around 2,000 jobs. The total cost of the project is expected to reach $400 million by 2018.

"The entire area is proud to be home to the first Hard Rock Hotel in Texas," Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen said. "The Grand Alps will be a great new addition to our well established tourist business."

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homebuying news

Texas ranks among the top 20 markets for homebuyers under 35

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

In 2025, Texas had more mortgage applicants under 35 years old than any other state in the country, the report found.

The Lone Star State is emerging as a top destination for young adult homebuyers, a new report has confirmed, with nearly 23 percent of all mortgage applications submitted by individuals under 35 years old.

Texas ranked No. 18 in SmartAsset's new study, "Where Young Adults are House Hunting," making it one of the most sought-after U.S. states "where the next generation of homeowners may be gaining the strongest foothold."

To determine where younger Americans are most actively pursuing homeownership, SmartAsset's analysts examined mortgage application data in all 50 states in 2025, and calculated the share of applications filed by buyers younger than 35 relative to all applicants.

A total 259,737 Texas homebuyers under 35 submitted mortgage applications in the last year alone — making Texas the state with the highest number of young adult applications in the country.

California and Florida, respectively, had the second- and third-highest numerical rate of young adult homebuyers with 170,434 and 159,429 applications in each state. But they still ranked at the bottom of the national list with the lowest percentage of young adult applications relative to all applicants in 2025 — at 14.7 and 14.8 percent.

North Dakota leads the nation as the top state for young homeowners with over 28 percent of all mortgage applications in 2025 submitted by homebuyers under 35, making up 6,551 applications.

SmartAsset also revealed something many homeowners might already know: younger Americans are more likely to pursue homeownership in states with lower housing costs.

"In each of the four states with the highest share of mortgage applications from adults younger than 35, the typical home value is less than $300,000: North Dakota (No. 1), West Virginia (No. 2), Nebraska (No. 3) and Iowa (No. 4)," the report's author wrote.

In Texas, the typical home is worth $302,187, which is the 18th highest in the U.S. Meanwhile, West Virginia and Mississippi are the only two states with home values under $200,000, the lowest nationwide.

Young potential homebuyers looking for a home in Dallas need to make about $83,000 to afford a starter home. Many surrounding suburbs also have high appeal for first-time homebuyers, such as McKinney and Plano, which offer a high quality of life for homeowners that want to start a family.

High home prices aren't the only challenges keeping young Americans from becoming homeowners, the report said. Other challenges like high interest rates and limited supply are also plaguing would-be homebuyers.

"According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, nearly 9 in 10 younger Americans say it is harder for them to buy a home than it was for their parents," the report said. "Nonetheless, younger buyers continue to aspire to homeownership, navigating an uneven landscape of affordability and opportunity."

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