Dallas-Fort Worth vs San Antonio

**Price Trends & Affordability**

Dallas-Fort Worth carries a median home price of $420,000 as of March 2026, down -0.8% year-over-year but up 2.2% month-over-month — signaling a tentative spring rebound after a sustained slide from a peak of roughly $454,500 in May 2024. That 24-month arc shows DFW prices fell nearly $50,000 from peak to trough (~$405,000 in January 2026) before recovering. San Antonio's median sits at $323,950 — about $96,000 cheaper, or roughly 23% less — with a steeper YoY decline of -3.3% and a more modest MoM rebound of 1.2%. San Antonio peaked around $349,000 in mid-2024 and has trended lower since, with less of a spring bounce visible so far. Both markets declined through late 2024 and bottomed in early 2026, but DFW's recovery signal is sharper. For a buyer focused purely on entry price, San Antonio's cost-of-living index of 91.2 (nearly 9% below the national average) compounds that affordability advantage beyond just sticker price, while DFW's index of 104 slightly exceeds the national average.

**Inventory Conditions & Market Velocity**

DFW has 24,968 active listings at 2.1 months of supply — technically still a seller's market by conventional thresholds (under 3 months), though that figure peaked at 4.2 months in December 2025 before tightening sharply into spring. Homes are sitting for an average of 48 days, suggesting moderate but not sluggish demand. San Antonio shows 12,651 active listings with 2.7 months of supply and a slower pace of 61 days on market — 13 days longer than DFW. San Antonio's inventory also reached a higher relative peak of 5.5 months in December 2025, indicating the market briefly tipped toward buyer-favorable territory before rebalancing. At 2.7 months currently, San Antonio remains a mild seller's market but offers buyers meaningfully more negotiating time and less urgency than DFW's tighter 2.1-month environment. Cash buyers are nearly identical in both markets: 22% in DFW, 21% in San Antonio, reflecting comparable investor and second-home activity.

**Economic Fundamentals & Employment**

DFW's economic engine is broader and deeper — 8.34 million residents, a median household income of $92,733, and a diverse employer base spanning AT&T, American Airlines, Toyota, Lockheed Martin, ExxonMobil, and UT Southwestern. Population grew an estimated 9.3% from 2019–2024, and corporate relocation activity continues to feed in-migration from coastal markets. Unemployment sits at 3.8%. San Antonio's 2.76 million residents earn a median household income of $78,112 — about $14,600 less than DFW — but the market's lower cost structure means purchasing power stretches further. The 3.4% unemployment rate is slightly tighter, and the employer base — anchored by Joint Base San Antonio (80,000+ personnel), USAA (~19,000 employees), H-E-B, and a large healthcare sector — is less volatile than a corporate-relocation-driven economy but also less likely to produce rapid wage or population surges. Both states have no income tax, though San Antonio's property tax rate of 2.1%–2.5% is notably higher than DFW's ~1.80%, which partially offsets the lower purchase price on an annual carrying-cost basis.

**Key Trade-offs**

Buyers prioritizing economic scale, corporate job density, and long-run appreciation potential face fewer comparable metro alternatives than DFW — but they absorb a $96,000 higher median price, a higher cost of living, and elevated property taxes relative to assessed value. San Antonio offers a lower entry point, a below-average cost of living, and a slightly more buyer-friendly pace of sale (61 days, 2.7 months of supply), but the steeper YoY price decline (-3.3%) and thinner income base suggest softer near-term price support. Both markets show nearly identical seasonal patterns — inventory peaking in December and tightening into spring — and both are overwhelmingly car-dependent (Walk Scores of 46 and 44, respectively) with near-identical commute times of roughly 28 minutes.