WASHINGTON – The Lone Star State—specifically North Texas—dominated WalletHub’s list of the best places to buy a house in 2022.
Six Texas cities were in the top ten, and five of them were in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington.
“DFW still remains more affordable to buyers than other large metros in the U.S.—particularly those on the coasts,” said Dr. Clare Losey, Texas Real Estate Research Center assistant research economist. “Moreover, DFW is one of the fastest growing regions in the U.S., leading to strong demand for homeownership. A component of that population growth is corporate relocations to DFW.”
Frisco ranked first overall, leading in both the real estate market and affordability and economic environment metrics.
Other Texas cities in the top ten were:
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No. 2 Allen, second in real estate market and third in affordability and economic environment;
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No. 3 McKinney, third in real estate market and second in affordability and economic environment;
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No 4 Austin, fourth in real estate market and 46th in affordability and economic environment;
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No. 8 Denton, tenth in real estate market and 15th in affordability and economic environment; and
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No. 10 Richardson, 13th in real estate market and 13th in affordability and economic environment.
Three other North Texas cities—No. 11 Fort Worth, No. 17 Carrollton, and No. 19 Plano—landed in the top 20.
While North Texas remains competitive, affordability issues persist.
“A limited supply of homes amid strong demand for homeownership challenges North Texas housing markets,” Losey said. “While the supply of homes has increased slightly over the past several months, which is largely attributable to higher mortgage interest rates, it still remains insufficient to meet the demand for homeownership, thereby inducing upward pressure on prices.
“Putting more supply on the ground—especially lower-priced homes affordable to first-time buyers—will be critical to easing affordability constraints.”
The rest of WalletHub’s top ten cities were No. 5 Nashville, Tenn.; No. 6 Cary, N.C.; and No. 9 Peoria, Ariz.
To determine the rankings, WalletHub compared 300 cities across two key dimensions using 17 metrics.
Last year, five Texas cities landed in WalletHub’s top ten.
The Texas Real Estate Research Center has a wealth of economic information online for free.