Real Estate Rumblings

Dallas homeownership rate climbs to record high during pandemic, report says

Dallas-Fort Worth's homeownership rates are soaring.

Photo by Ariel Skelley/Getty

Buoyed by historically low mortgage rates and robust home sales activity, Dallas is basking in record-high homeownership rates.

In the third quarter of this year, the homeownership rate in Dallas-Fort Worth climbed to 69 percent, according to a report released November 17 by the Texas A&M University Real Estate Center.

That compares with 64.9 percent in the second quarter of this year and 61.5 percent in the third quarter of 2019. Federal homeownership data for DFW dates back to 2005.

Statewide, Texas’ homeownership rate clocks in at an all-time high of 70 percent, exceeding the nation’s 67.4 percent for the first time since 2012, according to the report.

"Strong sales activity during the third quarter pushed the Texas homeownership rate to the unprecedented high," says TAMU Real Estate Center’s chief economist Jim Gaines in the report. "Nationally, homeownership fell across all races and every age group, except those 65 and older."

And while DFW has seen growth, the numbers are even higher in Austin. In the Austin metro area, the homeownership rate skyrocketed to 74.7 percent in the third quarter of this year, up almost 9 percentage points from 65.8 percent in the second quarter.

The Real Estate Center notes that, among the state's four major metro areas, Austin’s homeownership rate is the highest for the first time in 12 years.

Elsewhere in Texas, the homeownership rate in the San Antonio rate barely budged. The report shows the rate went from 66 percent in the second quarter of this year to 66.3 percent in the third quarter. That compares with 61.1 percent in the third quarter of last year and the record high of 76 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004. San Antonio’s data goes back to 1996.

Houston, which has been battered by the pandemic recession and a downtown in the oil industry, saw the regional homeownership rate drop from the second quarter of this year (67.9 percent, a record high) to the third quarter (65.5 percent), the report says. In the third quarter of last year, the rate sat at 61.9 percent. Houston’s data dates back to 2005.

Gaines warns that homeownership rates around Texas could slide next year as pandemic-era protections against home foreclosures expire.

"Homeownership could suffer in 2021," he says, "as COVID-19 foreclosure-protection policies expire. Texas has a higher proportion of Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Administration loans."

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Dallas Got Robbed

The richest small town in Texas is surprisingly not in Dallas

Facebook / City of Bellaire, Texas

Houston neighbor Bellaire is the richest town in Texas.

A survey of affluent small towns has found one town in Texas to be at the top of the list, but shockingly, it is not in Dallas. The town of Bellaire, a small enclave within the Houston metro area, has earned the top spot as the richest small town in Texas for 2025. Boo.

The report, "The Richest Small Town in Every State," from GoBankingRates, selected one city from each state, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey to determine the 50 richest small towns based on their median household income.

Describing Bellaire as a "small town" might be a misnomer. It's located less than 10 miles from downtown Houston and is fully surrounded by the City of Houston. It's really more of a wealthy enclave within Houston, with a population of just over 17,000 residents.

Those affluent citizens earn a median $236,311 in income every year, which GoBankingRates says is the 11th highest household median income out of all 50 cities included in the report.

The average home in this city is worth over $1.12 million, but Bellaire's lavish residential reputation often attracts properties with multi-million-dollar price tags.

Bellaire also earned a shining 81 livability score for its top quality schools, health and safety, commute times, with an abundance of exceptional local amenities.

Those include conveniently located grocery stores, coffee shops, diverse dining options, and spacious parks.

It's not the first time that Bellaire has caught the eye of GoBankingRates, which previously ranked it as the No. 23 wealthiest suburb in America, and it's been named on similar lists comparing the richest American cities.

Dallas can take comfort in the fact that a different survey found Lewisville to be of the cities attracting the most high-income households, meaning those that make more than $200,000. However, census data places the most recent median income in Lewisville at $85,002 — so it's nowhere close to catching up to Bellaire.

suburbs houston bellaire affluent households