City Rankings Have Dallas Down in the Dumps
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It seems Dallas has a whole lot of work to do to make itself more livable for renters and first-time homebuyers, at least according to a couple of recent analyses surveying the national housing market.
Obviously, the issue of affordability has dogged the city for quite some time now, but Dallas isn’t alone on that front. There’s a nationwide housing shortage that developers and officials from the local to the federal level are trying to solve by increasing supply. Nevertheless, from a market analyst’s perspective, the Big D is a lot less desirable than a surprising number of cities.
First-Time Homebuyers Have Their Work Cut Out for Them
WalletHub recently dropped a ranking of the best and worst cities for first-time homebuyers, and while it’s probably no surprise that Dallas didn’t come out on top, placing 237 out of 300 is not what you want to see.
“This reflects major challenges encompassing affordability, housing availability, and quality of life,” WalletHub writer and analyst Chip Lupo told CandysDirt.com. “The city has one of the worst real estate tax rates (252nd) and very low millennial homeownership (261st), which is a sign of significant barriers for first-time homebuyers.”
City and state officials have been working to provide property tax relief over the last several years, but swelling home valuations have curbed such efforts, essentially neutralizing rate reductions. There’s also the matter of high homeowners insurance rates, with Dallas coming in at 247 on that front, per WalletHub.
“While home values have appreciated by nearly 92% since 2017, ranking 25th nationally, inventory remains tight, with Dallas ranking 247th for active listings per capita,” Lupo said.
He went on to note that quality of life issues like high property crime rates also factored into the city’s unfortunate ranking. The latest Community Survey suggested as much, with respondents ranking police services and infrastructure maintenance as most in need of improvement.
“Despite a strong job market (48th), Dallas is a tough place for first-time buyers in today’s market,” Lupo said.
Even when somewhat isolating for city size, the Big D didn’t fare too well, ranking 51 out of the 68 biggest cities in the nation.
The Big D’s Rental Market Rank’s Not Great Either
Dallas didn’t do as poorly in a ranking of the best cities for renters to live in. However, only 150 cities were included in that particular list by RentCafe. McKinney showed up at the No. 1 overall spot, which should be a point of pride for North Texas. Meanwhile, Dallas came in at No. 57.
Still, the Big D does have some things going for it.
“Ranked #39 in Local Economy, Dallas shows promising signs of growth, particularly in entrepreneurship, ranking #23 in the South for new business applications per capita,” RentCafe writer Adina Dragos told CandysDirt.com. “Renter incomes have grown 35% over the past five years, yet this growth has been outpaced by nearby cities like McKinney.”
As much of an economic powerhouse as the metroplex’s flagship city has become (see Y’all Street), it can’t seem to overcome negative affordability and quality of life factors. It ranked No. 70 for housing and cost of living and No. 88 for quality of life in RentCafe’s report. Additionally, only 24% of apartment units are situated in the city’s “top areas,” which the firm identified according to proximity to transit and amenities.
“This impacts the nearly 60% of residents living in rental housing, making it one of the most renter-heavy cities in the country,” Dragos said. “The average apartment here offers just 851 square feet, while the cost of living sits 1.7% above the national average.”
CandysDirt.com previously reported on the market trend of rents climbing in Dallas, even as new builds get delivered with smaller units, no doubt a tough spot for renters seeking bang for their buck.
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Why is it a cities responsibility to provide low housing?
I prefer police protection, law enforcement, weekly trash pick up, and clean water at a residence price.
I read recently that it takes two years before the city of Plano will okay a permit for new development. The obvious reasons for this are both to appease the NOT IN MY Neighborhood Nimbys while also creating reason to grease official palms for a quicker permitting process.
Anyone’s little grandmother can see what is going on with the city of Dallas. The city has been trying to save the poor in the southern parts of the city forever now. Yet, the ruse continues unabated as duped citizens seem more than willing to spend their hard earned tax money on nonsense. Meanwhile, surrounding neighborhoods growing lights-out around this perpetually poor southern neighborhood threaten to expand to the extent of even displacing it!
All this obvious goings on according to my little grandmother.
I know first hand the City of Dallas is in the dumps. When does a City overlook all buildng codes to the detriment of the neighbors ruination? They do when the developer is rich and building a multi unit building. And then, the employees of the City of Dallas all ignore the building codes and say there are no violations when the sound from the industrial generator placed at the Anthology of HP, not in HP, is 83 deceibels 10 feet from the neighbors windows and doors, and allowing exhaust to fill their building and say there is no VIOLATION>
I have paid thousands and thousands in legal fees to get the exhaust moved, and am trying to get them to do something about the noise. The City of Dallas is nothing but stupid and CORRUPT.
When I was just out of college in the 1980’s, young men moved to Dallas for good jobs and good looking women. At than point, nothing else was really on my radar. For a man in his 20’s back then, getting established with a job and a girlfriend is the first step in a very long trip. I’m betting that it remains about the same except with the internet and an iPhone.
Housing shortage? Inventory is at an all time high since the crash of 2008 because of high interest rates.