Affordability

By every measure that actually describes a housing system, this is the strongest market on record. And appreciation isn't one of those measures.

This Is the Strongest Housing Market On Record: Perhaps In Our Lifetime

By every measure that actually describes a housing system, this is the strongest market on record. And appreciation isn't one of those measures. Last updated: August 2026 Nobody in Ellis County feels like they're living through the strongest housing market in American history. Prices in DFW have softened for eleven straight months. Appreciation forecasts through 2030 look anemic next to 2021....

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Mortgage rates hit a one-year high at 6.66%. But 34% of DFW homeowners already carry rates above 5%. Here is what the lock-in story gets wrong and where rates go next.

Mortgage Rates Just Hit a One-Year High Leaving A Third of DFW Homeowners Frozen

Roughly 34% of Dallas-Fort Worth homeowners currently carry a mortgage rate above 5%, according to UT Arlington's housing research. The mortgage lock-in effect is weakening in DFW, with over a third of homeowners experiencing the opposite. The 30-year fixed climbed to 6.66% this week, a one-year high, per Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Every feed is running that headline, and it will...

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Is Texas Really The Worst State To Live In?

Is Texas Really The Worst State To Live In? Why CNBC’s New Study Is Misleading

By Bobby Franklin, REALTOR® — North Texas Market Insider | Serving Ellis County, the I-35E Corridor, and the DFW Metroplex Last updated: July 19, 2026 Two headlines hit your feed this month. CNBC ranked Texas the second-worst state in America to live in, and WalletHub called it the fourth most financially distressed state in the country. Both studies are real. Both are being screenshotted by...

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The Affordability Crisis: 25M Working Adults Still Live At Home

The Affordability Crisis: Why 25 Million Working Adults Still Live With Their Parents in 2026

By Bobby Franklin, REALTOR® | North Texas Market Insider™ | Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors TeamServing Ellis County, Waxahachie, DFW & Greater North Texas | 214-228-0003 | northtexasmarketinsider.com Two numbers went viral this summer and almost everyone made the same mistake, reading them as separate stories. A record 25.2 million adults under 35 are living with their parents, and a...

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21st Century ROAD to Housing Act could severely limit investor activity

The Housing Vote That Decides Your 2026: What North Texas Buyers and Sellers Need to Know Before the Senate Acts This Week

By Bobby Franklin, REALTOR® | North Texas Market Insider™ | Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors TeamServing Ellis County, Waxahachie, Midlothian, DeSoto, Ennis, and the Greater DFW Metroplex | 214-228-0003 | northtexasmarketinsider.com Last updated: June 16, 2026 Here is the thing most buyers in Ellis County will find out a week too late. The single most consequential housing bill in a...

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The U.S. and Iran are crafting a deal that could potentially make life more affordable and bring 5.5 million home buyers back to the market

The Iran Deal Could Unleash 5.5M U.S. Home Buyers: Why North Texas Buyers Should Move Before Rates Fall

A war on the other side of the planet has been quietly setting the price of your next mortgage payment in DFW and this week the most important number in that whole equation finally moved. The United States and Iran reached a framework deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with the signing scheduled for Friday, June 19 in Geneva, according to NBC News. The instant the news hit, oil fell more...

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Is Now a Bad Time to Sell My House Because of Inflation and Rising Interest Rates? A North Texas Home Seller’s 2026 Reality Check

Somewhere in North Texas right now, maybe right here in Ellis County, a homeowner is sitting at the kitchen table, watching the inflation headlines, and asking the question I hear more than almost any other: “Is this a terrible time to sell?” It’s a reasonable question. The April 2026 CPI report dropped with headline inflation running at 3.8% year over year, the hottest annual reading since...

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A tipping point is coming where buyers will lose their advantage over sellers. Pending sales are a up but inventory is shrinking, learn why 2026 could tip the scales.

Pending Home Sales Are Rising Again in 2026: What It Actually Means for North Texas Buyers and Sellers

By Bobby Franklin, REALTOR® | North Texas Market Insider™ | Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team | Waxahachie, TX | 214-228-0003 | Updated: May 2026 Here’s what most agents won’t tell you: the data from the week of May 1–8, 2026 just drew a line in the sand. 79,220 weekly pending home sales nationally. That’s not a blip. That’s not a seasonal adjustment you explain away at...

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Should your home-buying plans include waiting for the next hurricane? Only a global crisis will trigger 3% rates again and here's why.

Why Waiting For 3% Rates is Like Praying For a Hurricane

By Bobby Franklin, REALTOR® | North Texas Market Insider™ | Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors TeamServing Waxahachie, Midlothian, Ennis, Red Oak, and the greater Ellis County and DFW MetroplexUpdated: May 2026 | Reading Time: ~20 minutes Here’s what I want you to understand before you read a single word of this article: the people waiting on the sidelines for rates to “come back down”...

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A 2021 building code mandate was struck down saving builders and buyers $9,600-$31,000 per home, especially those using FHA and USDA loans.

HUD and USDA Just Killed the “Green” Mandate That Was About to Make Your New Home $31,000 More Expensive

By Bobby Franklin, REALTOR® | North Texas Market Insider™ | Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team | Serving Ellis County, DFW & Greater North Texas | 214-228-0003 | northtexasmarketinsider.com Published: May 2026 | Reading Time: ~18 minutes Cut to it: On April 28, 2026, HUD Secretary Scott Turner and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins jointly pulled the trigger on a Biden-era...

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