Time For a Raise

How much more money you need to earn in 2024 to afford a home in Dallas

You'll need to save a lot more than change.

Of all the things that have changed since the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020, one of the most drastic is the residential real estate market.

In 2020, according to a new report from real estate company Zillow, a household earning $59,000 annually could comfortably afford the monthly mortgage on a typical U.S. home, spending no more than 30 percent of its income with a 10 percent down payment.

That was below the U.S. median income of about $66,000, meaning more than half of American households had the financial means to afford homeownership.

Now, the average U.S. home shopper needs to make more than $106,000 to comfortably afford a home.

That's a difference of more than $47,000 in just four years. Or, put another way, the income needed to comfortably afford a home is up 80 percent since 2020, while median income has risen just 23 percent in that time.

In Dallas, it's even more expensive. As of January 2024, Zillow has calculated $121,398 as the necessary income benchmark for home affordability here.

That's an increase of $53,679 from 2020, using Zillow's Home Value Index to estimate the typical Dallas home price of $366,690.

Assuming a 10 percent down payment, Zillow's monthly mortgage payment in Dallas hovers around $2,340 (compared to the U.S. average of $2,188).

The monthly mortgage payment on a typical U.S. home has nearly doubled since January 2020, up 96.4 percent. Home values have risen 42.4 percent in that time, with the typical U.S. home now worth about $343,000.

Mortgage rates ended January 2020 near 3.5 percent, keeping the cost of a home affordable for most households that could manage the down payment. At the time of Zillow's analysis, mortgage rates were about 6.6 percent.

Austin has also soared past the $100K mark to $149,267 needed in income for a $2,880 monthly mortgage on a $451,322 home.

Houston is on the "affordable" side of the report, with a yearly income of $95,374 necessary to afford a $300,955 home, paying $1,920 monthly after 10 percent down.

San Antonio is also nearby on the list: You'd need to earn $95,767 yearly to afford a $283,161 home, paying only $1,807 a month.

California, not surprisingly, requires the highest incomes: San Diego ($273,613) and Los Angeles ($279,250) seem downright cheap compared to San Francisco ($339,864) and San Jose ($454,296), where the latter will expect you to plunk down nearly $1.5 million for a home and pay almost $10,000 a month in mortgage.

Seattle and New York round out the eye-popping top of the list, while Pittsburgh, Memphis, Cleveland, and New Orleans are deemed the most affordable. Only Pittsburgh is close to 2020's numbers, requiring $58,232 in income for a $1,286 monthly mortgage.

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Million-dollar homes

Multi-million-dollar gated home community The Preserve rises in Frisco

Preserve

A palace on the prairie of The Preserve in Frisco

Construction has begun on a multi-million-dollar custom home community in Frisco. Called The Preserve, it's situated among PGA Frisco’s championship golf courses and near the Omni PGA Frisco Resort, with multiple phases that will roll out over the next few years.

The Preserve is part of Fields, a 2,500-acre development in North Frisco off the Dallas North Tollway. Fields is co-developed and owned in partnership with The Karahan Companies, Hunt Realty Investments alongside investors Chief Partners and Cross Tie Capital.

The development will feature retail, dining, entertainment, hotels, corporate offices, native Texas plants, flowers, trees, and 250 acres of park space. It's designed by the same team responsible for Plano’s Legacy West, led by Fehmi Karahan.

Phase 1 of The Preserve will feature 233 homes crafted by 10 North Texas luxury homebuilders: Alford Homes, Coats Homes, and Starside Builders have all begun home construction. The other seven are The Preserve Bella Custom Homes, Endurance Homes, Faulkner Perrin Custom Homes, Hawkins-Welwood Homes, Shaddock Custom Builders & Developers, Sharif & Munir Custom Homes, and Ventura Custom Homes, for whom construction will start soon.

The Preserve Frisco The Preserve in Frisco, soon to be covered with homes.The Preserve

Lot sizes range from 6,800 square feet to more than an acre. Home design options will incorporate high ceilings, open floor plans, glass walls, and seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor such as patios, infinity pools, and landscaped exteriors.

The surrounding area will have more than 2,000 new trees plus views delivered via design elements such as floor-to-ceiling windows and expansive outdoor living areas.

Many of the homes will address sustainability, health, and wellness with green architecture, energy efficiency, water conservation, and recycled building materials.

It will combine the privacy of a gated community with resort-style living, featuring amenities such as the PGA golf courses, 20+ miles of hike and bike trails, and the exclusive Brookside Club with an expansive swimming pool, state-of-the-art fitness center, tennis and pickleball courts and a playground.

Prices will start at $3,500,000.

Hunt Realty SVP Todd Watson calls it one of the most anticipated mixed-use projects in the area -- æa perfect location for discerning buyers seeking their forever home or a secondary residence" — although he's involved with the project so he's probably biased.

“As part of the Fields development, with prominent neighbors like PGA of America and the Omni PGA Frisco Resort, we know The Preserve will be one of the most sought-after addresses in North Texas," Watson says.

According to the Frisco Economic Development Corporation, Frisco’s population has increased by 500 percent in two decades and was recently recognized as the fastest growing city in Texas and third across the U.S.

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