housing report
Dallas-Fort Worth offers 8th best ‘bang for the buck’ for new homes in U.S.

In today’s home market, buyers are looking to get the most house for the lowest price. It turns out that in this regard, the Dallas-Fort Worth area delivers one of the biggest bangs for the buck.
A new ranking from residential real estate platform Home Bay puts DFW at No. 8 among the country’s 50 biggest metros on the “most bang for the buck” meter, based on the median price per square foot of a new, single-family home. In 2021, the typical 2,145-square-foot new home in the DFW area cost $399,950, or $186 per square foot, according to Home Bay.
“Examining price per square foot is more important than in the past because housing prices are also outpacing income,” Home Bay says.
Two other Texas metros rank ahead of DFW in the “most bang for the buck” category:
- No. 3 Houston, with a median price of $167 per square foot for a new 2,185-square-foot new home costing $359,995.
- No. 5 San Antonio, with a median price of $172 per square foot for a new 2,036-square-foot home costing $349,900.
Memphis, Tennessee, tops the “most bang for the buck” list, with a median price of $92 per square foot. Across the U.S., the median price per square foot stands at $169.
Also in the Home Bay report, DFW appears at No. 6 for the median size of a new single-family home (2,145 square feet at the end of 2021).
Two other Texas metros make the top 10 in this category: No. 5 Houston (2,158 square feet) and No. 8 Austin (2,100 square feet).
Memphis also leads this list, at 2,630 square feet for the median size of a new single-family home.
Home Bay used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Realtor.com to come up with its rankings.