Affordable Homes in DFW? We Found a Few Darling Neighborhoods in Anna

This week’s Inwood Home of the Week, sponsored by Inwood National Bank, takes us to the northern Collin County city of Anna, where you’ll find this 1,541-square-foot home listed by Shelbie McKenzie of Coldwell Banker Realty. Now, homes at this price point are hotter than hot so we couldn’t get it published before it went contingent.

In fact, it was only on the market for two days and before long, Shelbie had received nine or ten offers. “Total craziness!” she says. “Offers just started pouring in — most over asking price.”

This well-kept home features three bedrooms, two baths, and a pool-size backyard. One of the bedrooms — in this case, the babies’ room — is large enough to be a primary bedroom. The salvaged wood shiplap walls add a special texture to the room and home at large.

And even though the window is about to close on this one, we love that McKenzie turned us on to this HOA-free neighborhood full of affordable homes and neighboring communities in Anna.

This particular neighborhood is called Sweetwater Crossing by Starlight Homes, a division of Atlanta-based Ashton Woods. Starlight is specifically their affordable homes division aimed at helping first-time buyers purchase their own home. Only one other home is for sale in this small community, but it’s a neighborhood to put on your list.

Just north on Highway 5, you’ll find an enclave of DR Horton homes that range from $275,000 to $350,000, including several that we’ve seen go on the market in the last 24 hours.

Still under construction, Highland Homes West Crossing homes — ranging from $430,000 to $500,000 — are a little higher in price and outside what we’d consider affordable. But this amenity-packed community has five move-in ready homes and more coming soon.

Anna is one of the five fastest-growing cities in North Texas, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And while new neighborhoods are cropping up quickly, Anna residents are enjoying the best of both worlds: They can savor the small-town character of living in the country, but their central location at U.S. 75 and SH 121 make commuting to their Billion Dollar Mile jobs in the city easy (or at least, easier.)

Get a jump on these new homes going on the market by getting your mortgage approval underway, experts say. Among the best strategies for winning a home bidding war? “One of the first and most important steps is getting preapproved for a mortgage,” Vivian Marino writes in a recent New York Times article. “This shows the seller that you’re not only a serious buyer, but a qualified one.”

Reach out to the friendly folks at Inwood National Bank to get pre-approved for your next home. For questions about the pre-approval process and to get started, call Inwood at 214-358-5281 or visit Inwood National Bank’s website.