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This is the income you need to buy a starter home in Dallas right now

Dallas and Austin lead the nation for improving starter-home affordability.

A new housing affordability report shows Dallas is among the nation's top metros for improving starter-home affordability. First-time buyers are finally catching a small break, with the income needed to purchase a median-priced starter home falling in 2026.

Dallas residents need to earn $83,096 to afford a median-priced home in the metro area, or 5.1 percent less than they did last year, the Redfin report found.

Dallas had the third-biggest decline in the income needed to afford a starter home out of the 50 U.S. metros analyzed in the report. Redfin also determined that all starter home listings in Dallas are "affordable" based on the city's median household income — which the report estimates at $103,144.

Dallas still has a far higher income required to afford a starter home compared to the national average, but affordability is improving slightly across the board. Americans need to make $70,693 to afford the typical starter home, according to the report's findings.

"The income needed to buy a starter home is declining while earnings are rising," the report said. "The typical American household earns an estimated $87,599, about $17,000 more than what’s needed to buy the median-priced U.S. starter home. That gap is widening: A year ago, the typical American earned roughly $12,500 more than they needed to buy a starter home."

Still, starter home affordability is "still often out of reach" for first-time homebuyers in expensive real estate markets due to "near high record" sale prices and soaring mortgage rates, the study said.

In neighboring Fort Worth, residents only need to make $77,886 to afford a starter home — an attainable milestone based on the city's estimated median household income of $93,102. Fort Worth ranks fourth nationwide for its year-over-year improvement in starter home affordability.

For additional comparison, this is the income needed to afford a starter home in other major Texas metros:

Austin – $92,607 (down 6.1 percent)
Houston – $70,384 (down 4 percent)
San Antonio – $62,859 (down 3.7 percent)

Unfortunately, affording a home in the overall housing market is further straining Americans' wallets. American households need to make just under $110,000 afford the typical U.S. home, but Redfin's evaluation found the typical household makes about $22,000 less than that.

"The discrepancy is partly because the overall market is driven by outsized price increases in the luxury segment, and outsized price increases in places like San Francisco and West Palm Beach, where affluent buyers are active," the report said. "At the same time, some would-be buyers of starter homes are pulling back because they typically earn less money and are more sensitive to affordability pressures."

The top 10 U.S. metros with the biggest declines in the income required to afford the typical starter home are:

No. 1 – Austin, Texas
No. 2 – Oakland, California
No. 3 – Dallas, Texas
No. 4 – Fort Worth, Texas
No. 5 – Denver, Colorado
No. 6 – San Francisco, California
No. 7 – Phoenix, Arizona
No. 8 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 9 – Houston, Texas
No. 10 – Los Angeles, California

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Ranch for sale

North Texas ranch owned by FDR's grandson hits market for $21.5 million

Photo courtesy Hortenstine Ranch Co.

The Rollin R Ranch in North Texas is on the market for $21.5 million.

A North Texas ranch with ties to the White House is on the market for $21.5 million.

Dallas oil and gas executive Tony Roosevelt, the grandson of President Franklin Roosevelt, is selling his 1,300-acre Rolling R Ranch in Cooke County, which is along the Texas-Oklahoma border. Blake Hortenstine, Cash McWhorter, and Jonathan James, all of Hortenstine Ranch Co., have the listing.

Roosevelt bought the ranch in 1999. He and his wife, JoAnne Roosevelt, had used the property as a weekend retreat, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The ranch, about 75 miles north of Dallas-Fort Worth, features rolling terrain dotted with hardwood forests, native grasslands, and mature pecan groves. The property sits along more than 2.5 miles of Clear Creek.

“For Tony Roosevelt, Rolling R Ranch represented the realization of a lifelong vision. His appreciation for ranching began during his youth at his family’s original Rolling R Ranch in Colorado,” Hortenstine Ranch Co. says in a news release.

“Those experiences shaped his belief that land should be experienced, cared for and shared across generations. Rather than recreating the Colorado property, he spent decades thoughtfully assembling adjoining acreage in Cooke County and shaping a ranch uniquely suited to the North Texas landscape.”

Over time, the Roosevelts’ children and grandchildren would go horseback riding, hiking, camping, or fishing when they visited Rolling R. The property lies near the historic Chisholm and Butterfield Overland National Historic trails.

“What makes Rolling R Ranch truly special isn’t simply its size or location,” Blake Hortenstine says. “It’s the intentional way it was created. Every trail, overlook, and improvement reflects decades of thoughtful stewardship. Opportunities to acquire a property with this level of natural beauty, privacy and history are exceptionally rare.”

According to the listing firm, Tony Roosevelt delayed construction of the ranch’s hilltop lodge until he bought enough nearby property to protect unobstructed views.

Improvements at the ranch included establishing a seven-mile trail system, installing owl boxes and bluebird houses, and setting up wildlife sanctuary areas. Deer, turkey, waterfowl, native birds, wild hogs, coyotes, bobcats, and other wildlife populate the ranch.

While the outdoor amenities and wildlife are impressive, so are the buildings at the ranch.

The 3,716-square-foot main house, built in 2014, offers four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms. The open-concept great room features a stone fireplace with stone flooring that extends to the main living areas.

The kitchen includes granite countertops, custom cabinetry, a large center island, and a butler’s pantry. A wet bar is next to the main living area. Just off the kitchen is a screened-in porch overlooking the landscaped and irrigated grounds, along with a swimming pool and hot tub.

A 2,800-square-foot barndominium does double duty as the ranch’s headquarters and lodging for visitors.

The barndominium’s upper level includes four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a full kitchen, an open living area, and a screened-in balcony overlooking the surrounding wildlife sanctuary. The lower level features a climate-controlled workshop with a full bathroom. Adjacent to the workshop is a four-stall horse barn, one of four barns on the property.

“Whether envisioned as a legacy family retreat, a premier recreational ranch, or a long-term investment in one of North Texas’ most desirable ranching regions, Rolling R Ranch stands among the finest offerings to come to market in recent years and represents an opportunity that discerning buyers may not see again for decades,” Blake Hortenstine says.

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