Keene is Johnson County’s most distinctive small town. A community shaped by Southwestern Adventist University, one of the most diverse populations in the upper quartile for all Texas cities, walkable by design, and values-driven by nature. This is where buyers who are done chasing growth find exactly what they were looking for.
Keene is a Johnson County city of about 7,100 on US 67 just northeast of Cleburne, where Redfin’s median sale price was about $260,000 in mid-2026. You’ll find older homes around the university campus and several active builder communities on the edges of town. Here are 8 areas with dated price context.
About $258K to $356K
New homes from D.R. Horton, with one- and two-story plans of about 1,364 to 2,326 square feet, next to Keene High School.
Listings ran from about $257,990 to $356,490 in 2026, and recent closings were listed near $283,000 to $315,000. A 46.7-acre Phase 2 plat went to the city in September 2026. Keene ISD; HOA dues weren’t published.
About $237K to $268K
Entry-priced new homes from Lennar, with four plans of about 1,302 to 1,760 square feet.
Lennar listed homes from $236,999 to $267,999 in late October 2026, with HOA dues of about $50, and a Phase III plat of about 14 acres went to the city that September. Lennar lists Keene ISD; mailing addresses read Cleburne 76031, so confirm city limits.
From about $298K
New homes from Cheldan, Biltmore and Silverleaf Homes in a community its builders market as master-planned.
Listings started near $297,600 to $312,000 in 2026. Amenities, HOA dues, the school district and city-limits status weren’t confirmed; check by address.
From about $340K
New homes from John Houston Homes, with a second phase listed as coming soon.
Phase 1 was listed from about $339,990 in 2026. The street location and whether other builders are still active weren’t confirmed. Listed under Keene ISD.
Listed near $250K
Older homes around the Southwestern Adventist University campus, a short walk from the Old Betsy Rd. shops and the campus dinosaur museum.
A home on Rosedale Ave. was listed at $250,000 in October 2026. Inside city limits; Keene ISD.
About $279K to $300K
Resale and infill homes on established streets with Keene addresses.
2026 listings included $279,000 on Mistletoe Ln. and $299,990 on Collinwood, and a Cadyn Dr. home sold in September 2026 after listing at $290,000. Subdivision names and school districts weren’t confirmed.
Listed near $320K
Newer construction on Perk St., including a 2,231-square-foot home.
A Perk St. home sold in September 2026 after listing at $319,690. The subdivision name and builder weren’t confirmed.
Not yet priced
The city reviewed plats for The Canyons Phase 2 (46.7 acres) and Ashton Homeplace Phase III (14.16 acres) in September 2026.
A 9.27-acre tract was recommended for commercial zoning in 2026, and the city’s industrial park on CR 317 is drawing two manufacturing plants for 2027. Timelines can change.
Swipe or drag sideways to see them all.
Redfin’s Keene median for the three months ending August 2026 was about $259,800, up 3.3 percent, while price per square foot fell 4.3 percent to $155.
Most recent sales are builder closings, and homes took a median 61 days to sell, up from 55.
The city’s 2026 rate is $0.810641 per $100, down from $0.828978. It offers no general homestead exemption, but gives $15,000 for owners 65 and older or disabled, plus a tax ceiling.
In city limits and Keene ISD, the combined rate is about $2.23 per $100 before exemptions.
Several new-build streets carry Cleburne 76031 mailing addresses, and homes can fall in Keene, Cleburne, Alvarado or Joshua ISD.
Confirm city limits, the school district and every taxing unit for each address.
New phases of The Canyons and Ashton Homeplace went to the city in September 2026.
A new US 67 bypass off-ramp was expected to open in November 2026, per the city.
Keene, a Johnson County city about 5 miles northeast of Cleburne on US 67 and FM 2280, grew up around the school that became Southwestern Adventist University, incorporated in 1955 and counted 6,387 residents in the 2020 census (Census estimate 7,109 for July 2025) across about 4.96 square miles of land. Area names follow subdivision, builder and street names, and boundaries are approximate. Price figures are dated snapshots: Redfin’s three-month median ending August 2026, individual 2026 listings and 2026 builder prices; they are context, not values. Redfin’s Keene figures include some addresses with Cleburne mailing addresses, and builder closings dominate recent sales. Builder prices change weekly and may include incentives. HOA dues weren’t published for any community listed. Sunset Ridge’s and Bristol Oaks’ school districts and city-limits status, and the Perk St. builder, weren’t confirmed. No public improvement district or utility district was identified for Keene, but that doesn’t mean none applies; check every taxing unit on the appraisal record. School districts are listed at the district level only and must be confirmed by address. Tax rates are 2026 figures: City of Keene $0.810641 (adopted at the no-new-revenue rate) and Keene ISD $0.94953; the combined figure adds Johnson County ($0.367 plus its $0.05 road levy) and Hill College ($0.048052), and Johnson County ESD No. 1 may apply to some parcels. Plat and off-ramp details are from City of Keene meeting packets. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Keene keeps it compact: barbecue, coffee, donuts and breakfast along Old Betsy Rd., a vegetarian food center, two dollar stores, a city park and a university dinosaur museum, with big grocery runs in Cleburne. Here’s a 2026-checked list of 15.
428 S. Old Betsy Rd., Ste. 200
Hickory-smoked brisket and the “Texas Trash” Frito pie, weekdays 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., serving Keene since 2002.
Keene’s shops, coffee and donuts line the same stretch of Old Betsy Rd.
101 S. Old Betsy Rd., Ste. 1
Locally roasted coffee and tropical drinks, weekday mornings from 7 a.m.
314 S. Old Betsy Rd.
Breakfast plates, including a Salvadoran platter; opens at 6 a.m. Monday through Friday.
101 S. Old Betsy Rd.
A small donut shop on the main strip.
301 S. Old Betsy Rd.
The town’s drive-in for burgers, shakes and drinks.
2221 FM 2280
Mexican food on FM 2280; confirm whether the address is inside city limits.
201 S. Old Betsy Rd.
Vegetarian and health foods plus books in English and Spanish; open Sunday through Thursday 9 to 6 and Friday 9 to 4, closed Saturday.
117 S. Old Betsy Rd.
Packaged groceries and household goods, daily 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
400 S. Old Betsy Rd.
Groceries, ice, propane and household goods, daily 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
600 W. Henderson St., Cleburne
There’s no full-service supermarket in Keene. The closest H-E-B is in Cleburne.
W. Henderson St., Cleburne
Walmart Supercenter (1616 W. Henderson) and Kroger (1617 W. Henderson) face each other in Cleburne, and Brookshire’s is in Joshua.
113 W. Magnolia St.
A working research museum at Southwestern Adventist University, where more than 30,000 dinosaur bones from Wyoming are cleaned and cataloged. Tours are $9, $7 for seniors, veterans, first responders and kids under 12; book 48 hours ahead.
909 N. Old Betsy Rd.
The city park that hosts Keene’s Christmas Market & Tree Lighting each December; the city added new lighting in 2026.
Keene
The city reported civil plans expected for an O’Reilly Auto Parts in October 2026; the site and opening date weren’t announced.
Jeremiah Williams Survey
A 9.27-acre tract was recommended for commercial zoning in 2026; the council outcome and any tenants weren’t found.
Keene’s dining and shopping cluster on a short stretch of Old Betsy Rd. near the university campus.
For full grocery runs, residents head to Cleburne’s W. Henderson St., about a 10-minute drive, or to Brookshire’s in Joshua.
Compiled October 2026. Listings are from business websites, store locators, Southwestern Adventist University and 2026 business and review listings, and were not confirmed with owners; call ahead to confirm hours and that a business is still open. Mountain Coffee’s closing time differs between sources, and Los Juanitos’ city-limits status wasn’t confirmed. Drive times to Cleburne are estimates. The museum’s address also appears as 204 W. Magnolia St. Luva Cafe, Universe Tea, Secret Spot Bakery, a pizza shop and a Subway appeared on 2026 review lists but aren’t shown until their addresses are confirmed. Keene Pharmacy and an Allsup’s weren’t confirmed open in 2026, and 360 Restaurant & Lounge is listed as closed. Elisa Carver Park is the city park confirmed in city event listings; no splash pad or municipal library was verified, and the university library’s public access wasn’t confirmed. O’Reilly and rezoning details are from City of Keene meeting packets and may change. Businesses listed are for general local reference and are not endorsements; I receive no compensation from any business named. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
From Elm Grove to a College Town, a 1955 City and a New Industrial Park
Before settlement, the Keene area was open country in central Johnson County, where the Cross Timbers meet the Blackland Prairie.
Keene sits in central Johnson County, about five miles northeast of Cleburne, on land that later carried US 67, Farm Road 2280 and the Santa Fe rail line, according to the Handbook of Texas. The county lies where the wooded Cross Timbers meet the Blackland Prairie, and its creeks, including Buffalo Creek, shaped where the first farms and roads would appear.
Before the 1850s, Native peoples of North Central Texas used this country for hunting and travel, and it wasn’t permanently settled by Anglo-Americans until after Texas statehood in 1845. Johnson County itself was created in 1854. The tribal history of the exact Keene site wasn’t confirmed for this timeline, so these details describe the wider county rather than the town site itself.
The first settlers arrived in 1852, and the farming community around their church-school became known as Elm Grove.
The Handbook of Texas records that the first settlers to reach the area, Jeremiah Easterwood and his household, arrived in 1852. Easterwood built a Methodist church that also served as the local school, a common arrangement on the Texas frontier. Over time the farming settlement around it became known as Elm Grove, a name the Texas Almanac still lists as a historical name for Keene.
The railroad arrived before the town did. The Handbook reports that the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway built through the area about 1890, and Charlie Moore opened a general store in 1893. The Johnson County Historical Commission’s county history repeats the same chronology. Those early steps turned a scattered farming settlement into a small crossroads just as a much larger change was coming.
In 1893 and 1894, a new academy on hundreds of acres east of Cleburne gave rise to a town that postal officials named Keene.
In 1892 a church committee from the Dallas area went looking for school land in Johnson County. Its members personally financed 800 acres five miles east of Cleburne for $8,000, according to Southwestern Adventist University. Settlers arrived by covered wagon in November 1893, during a national financial panic, and many lived in tents that winter while they cleared land and built houses.
The first school building was finished on January 6, 1894, and Keene Industrial Academy opened the next day with 56 students. A post office opened that year, and the Handbook notes that postal officials selected the name Keene. Students learned trades in the academy’s broom factory, blacksmith and carpentry shops, bakery and printing office, and it became a twelve-grade academy in 1896.
A one-stop train nicknamed Old Betsy, a junior college and a few hundred residents defined Keene’s early 1900s.
Keene had about 500 residents by 1900, according to the Handbook. On December 20, 1902, the first passenger train pulled into town after residents raised $3,000 for service on the 10-mile Cleburne–Egan line, with Keene’s depot as its only stop. The university says the steam train, nicknamed Old Betsy, was the main way to travel for about 20 years, and today’s Old Betsy Road follows its route.
The academy added college work and became Southwestern Junior College around 1916. Keene counted 420 residents in 1926 and 350, with 16 businesses, by the mid-1940s. In 1937 students built the Mizpah Gate from brick and Somervell County petrified wood under school president Harry H. Hamilton, finishing it that June. It became the campus’s official entrance, replacing a turnstile in an old livestock fence.
Keene incorporated in 1955 and grew quickly as Cleburne and Fort Worth expanded, reaching 1,532 residents by 1960.
In the mid-1950s Keene still had about 350 residents, but the Handbook notes that the number of businesses had grown to 26. The city incorporated in 1955, the year recorded by both the Texas Municipal League and the Keene Chamber of Commerce. The Handbook credits nearby Cleburne and Fort Worth for the rapid growth that followed: the population reached 1,532 by 1960 and about 1,700 by 1966.
On campus, the junior college steadily built up a 150-acre campus and took the name Southwestern Union College in 1962 or 1963 as it sought four-year status. Bachelor’s-level classes began in 1967, and the Handbook records an enrollment of 275 in 1965. Many campus buildings date from the 1950s and 1960s, as the school and the town around it grew side by side.
Keene reached 5,003 residents by 2000, the college became a university, and voters held a home rule charter election in 1999.
Keene’s population reached 2,440 in 1970, 3,013 in 1980 and 3,944 in 1990, according to census counts, and the town had 49 businesses by 1976. The college became Southwestern Adventist College in 1977, added graduate work in 1987 and became Southwestern Adventist University in 1996, according to the university. Its Hopps Museum and Welcome Center, which presents university and county history, opened in 1998.
The Keene Chamber of Commerce was established in 1993, and its Christmas Light Parade began in the mid-1990s. A city charter commission finished its work on September 22, 1999, and the home rule charter election was set for November 2, 1999. Voters later amended the charter in 2014 and 2024. The 2000 census counted 5,003 residents, more than three times the 1960 figure.
Keene passed 6,000 residents, gained a state landmark and opened a dinosaur museum on the university campus.
The census counted 5,003 residents in 2000 and 6,106 in 2010. In 2009 the Texas Historical Commission designated the 1937 Mizpah Gate a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, with its marker at Hillcrest Street and South College Drive. The marker notes that the gate replaced a turnstile in the campus’s old barbed-wire livestock fence, and that students built it by hand during the Great Depression.
The university opened its Dinosaur Science Museum and Research Center in October 2016 in Scales Science Hall, with more than 20,000 bones on display. The bones come from an annual summer dig in eastern Wyoming’s Lance Formation, which research professor Art Chadwick began in 1996. The university marked its 125th year in 2019, and by 2021 more than 30,000 bones had been cataloged.
Keene counted 6,387 residents in 2020 and an estimated 7,109 by 2025, and broke ground on new industry in 2026.
The 2020 census counted 6,387 residents, and the Census Bureau estimated 7,109 for July 2025. Voters amended the city charter on November 5, 2024. Keene ISD asked voters to approve a $25 million bond on November 4, 2025, and again on May 2, 2026; local reports and board comments indicate neither passed. New builder communities, including The Canyons and Ashton Homeplace, added homes on the edges of town.
On May 5, 2026, Metalplate Galvanizing broke ground at the city-owned Wayne Tomblinson Industrial Park on County Road 317, after buying a 59-acre tract from the city’s economic development corporation. The city cited more than 50 initial jobs, with potential for several hundred. In August 2026, Texas Corrugated Box presented its own plans to the City Council, and the city added new lighting at Elisa Carver Park.
Compiled from the Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas (Keene and Southwestern Adventist University entries), Southwestern Adventist University’s published history, the Texas Historical Commission’s Mizpah Gate marker (No. 15977), the Johnson County Historical Commission, the Texas Almanac, the Texas Municipal League, the City of Keene charter and news releases, City of Keene council packets, Citizen Portal meeting summaries and the U.S. Census Bureau. Sources differ on several points: the academy’s founding (1893 per the university and marker, January 1894 per the Handbook); its acreage (800 or 836 acres); and the years of its name changes (junior college in 1915 or 1916, Southwestern Union College in 1962 or 1963, and Southwestern Adventist College in 1977 or 1980). Who Keene was named for wasn’t confirmed, and no earlier name other than Elm Grove was found. The exact incorporation date, whether the Fort Worth–Cleburne interurban served Keene, and the construction dates of US 67 and FM 2280 weren’t confirmed. The 1902 rail date may describe a different line than the 1890 Santa Fe line. Keene ISD bond results are from secondary reports. Historical population figures are total counts. No National Register listing in Keene was found. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
A 30-Year Christmas Parade, Fireworks and a Fall Starfest
The university’s spring alumni weekend, with public-facing events that have included a golf classic, a car, truck and motorcycle show and open hours at the Dinosaur Science Museum. Held April 11–14, 2019, and in spring 2026. Next: April 9–11, 2027 (announced).
Run by the Southwestern Adventist University Alumni Association.
Pricing varies by event; some events are free to the public.
Four nights of pro rodeo at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Posse grounds in Cleburne. Held June 5–8, 2024, June 11–14, 2025, and June 10–13, 2026.
Cleburne’s Independence Day fireworks over Lake Pat Cleburne, with free public viewing along Lakeshore Dr. Held July 4, 2024, and July 4, 2026, with fireworks about 9:30 p.m.
A free city fall evening for kids, with “no scary costumes,” traditionally run with Keene police and fire. Held October 31, 2021, October 31, 2024, and October 30, 2025, 6 to 9 p.m. 2026: scheduled for October 28. 2027 date not yet announced.
Run by the City of Keene.
It moved from 203 W. Hillcrest St. to the Keene ISD grounds in 2025.
It ran as a drive-through “reverse parade” in 2020.
Keene’s signature lighted parade, followed by fireworks at about 7:45 p.m. The 2024 parade drew a record 60 entries and about 4,000 spectators. Held December 3, 2023, December 8, 2024, and December 7, 2025, the 29th. Free. 2026, the 30th: date not yet announced.
Run by the Keene Chamber of Commerce with the city’s economic development boards and sponsors.
The parade starts at 6:30 p.m.; parade entries were $10.
In 2025 the route ran from 513 S. Old Betsy Rd. to the university gym lot.
The Chamber’s decorated home and business contest has run since 1998.
A free city holiday market with a tree lighting at dusk and a Polar Express showing. Held December 10, 2023, and December 6–7, 2025, noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday. 2026 date not yet announced.
Run by the City of Keene, which says it has held the market every year since 2023.
The 2024 date wasn’t found.
Cleburne’s Whistle Stop Christmas lights Hulen Park on November 23, 2026, with its parade December 4, and Burleson’s BTX-MAS parade and drone show is set for December 5, 2026.
The Christmas Light Parade reaches its 30th year in 2026, and Starfest moved to the Keene ISD grounds in 2025.
Keene has no recurring city Fourth of July event; residents head to Cleburne’s fireworks at Lake Pat Cleburne.
No recurring Easter egg hunt, fall festival, National Night Out or school homecoming parade was found in two or more years, so none is listed.
Timing shown is the usual pattern for each event; exact dates, times, prices and locations change from year to year and should be confirmed with organizers. Event details are from the City of Keene, the Keene Chamber of Commerce, Southwestern Adventist University, the Cleburne Chamber of Commerce, the City of Burleson, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Posse and Cleburne Times-Review reporting; each Keene event listed was found in at least two years. Starfest’s 2026 date is from the city’s vendor and volunteer registration pages and should be confirmed on the city calendar. The 2026 alumni weekend dates weren’t captured. Older listings of a July 4 parade and an Easter egg hunt came from a website that is no longer reliable and aren’t shown. One-time events, including the 2016 museum opening and the 2026 industrial park groundbreaking, aren’t listed. Nearby events are outside Keene and are listed for convenience. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
What to know about Keene schools:
The ratings: Check TXschools.gov for each district’s current status.
Taxes: Keene ISD’s 2026 rate is $0.94953 per $100, down from $1.00941; on a $260,000 homestead, the school share is about $1,139 a year.
Want the full breakdown? Read our complete Keene schools guide →
Most Keene addresses are in Keene ISD, a 3A district rated B (87) in 2025 with about 1,100 students on four campuses. Homes at the edges can sit in Cleburne, Alvarado or Joshua ISD. Confirm the district by address.
City limits and surrounding area
Keene ISD earned a B (87) in TEA’s 2025 ratings, after a C (78) in 2024 and a B (89) in 2022. It’s a 3A district with about 1,100 students on four campuses.
The district office is at 3625 E. US 67, 817-774-5200. Its 2026 rating wasn’t confirmed for this page; check TXschools.gov.
Pre-K through 5th grade
Keene Elementary (300 US 67 E.) serves pre-K through 2nd grade, and The Summit Leadership Academy serves grades 3–5 on the district campus.
Campus assignment is set by the district; confirm grades and locations before you buy.
6th through 12th grade
Keene Junior High (401 Charger Dr.) serves grades 6–8, and Keene High School (404 Charger Dr.) serves grades 9–12. The mascot is the Chargers.
The high school grounds also host the city’s fall Starfest.
District-wide
Voters turned down a $25 million bond in November 2025, reported at 347 to 168, and again in May 2026, when it was split into $10 million and $15 million propositions.
The May plan would have added a cafeteria with a storm shelter, classrooms, a band hall and a “gymnatorium.” The district cited about 400 new homes due in Keene ISD by 2027. No new election had been called.
District-wide
The 2026–27 year began August 12, 2026, and ends May 27, 2027, on a standard five-day week. Keene ISD accepts out-of-district students through limited open enrollment, with no tuition.
Transfer space is limited and applications must be renewed each year; check the district for the current deadline.
2026
Keene ISD’s 2026 rate is $0.94953 per $100, down about 6 cents from 2025. On a $260,000 homestead, the school share is about $1,139 a year after the $140,000 exemption.
Owners 65 and older or disabled add the state’s $60,000 exemption, about $570 in the first year, and then a tax ceiling applies.
Edge addresses
The City of Keene says residents can be in Keene, Cleburne, Alvarado or Joshua ISD. Each has its own 2026 tax rate, and Cleburne ISD adds a $7,000 local over-65 exemption.
Sources conflict for Ashton Homeplace (Keene ISD per Lennar, Cleburne ISD per another listing site), and Sunset Ridge wasn’t confirmed. Check the appraisal record for every address.
Keene
Chisholm Trail Academy (401 S. Old Betsy Rd.) is a private high school for grades 9–12, and Southwestern Adventist University (100 W. Hillcrest St.) has been in Keene since 1894.
A private elementary school also operates in Keene; confirm grades and admissions directly with each school.
Keene and Cleburne mailing addresses cross four school district lines, and new subdivisions can sit on either side.
Check the school district on the appraisal record and confirm the campus with the district.
On a $260,000 homestead, the school share runs about $1,139 in Keene ISD and about $1,274 in Cleburne ISD at 2026 rates.
The bigger line is the city tax, about $2,108, with no general homestead exemption.
Keene ISD earned a B (87) in 2025; its 2026 rating wasn’t confirmed here.
Check TXschools.gov for each district’s current status.
The district expects about 400 new homes by 2027, after voters rejected two bonds.
Ask how the district plans to handle space and growth at each campus.
Accountability ratings are shown at the district level only; campus ratings are intentionally not shown, and campuses are listed by name and location only. Ratings change every year; use TXschools.gov for current ratings. Keene ISD’s B (87) is from TEA’s 2025 ratings; its 2026 rating and the edge districts’ 2026 ratings weren’t confirmed. The 2024 C (78) is from a TEA report summary. Enrollment differs by source, from 1,110 (TEA, 2025) to 1,139 (Texas Tribune, 2026). The Summit Leadership Academy’s exact address wasn’t confirmed. The November 2025 vote count is from Cleburne Times-Review reporting; May 2026 vote counts weren’t found. Bond plans and the 400-home projection are from the district’s bond materials. District phone numbers differ between sources; the number shown is from the district’s website. Which subdivisions fall in each district wasn’t verified except The Canyons, which builder and listing sources place in Keene ISD. Tax rates are 2026 figures from the Johnson County Tax Office; school tax examples apply the $140,000 state homestead exemption and are illustrations, not quotes. School district and campus assignment is determined by address and must be confirmed with the district. School information is provided for general reference only and is not a recommendation regarding any school, district, neighborhood or property. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Median Sales Price
Median sales price for Keene by month, from NTREIS. Redfin put the median near $260,000 for the three months ending August 2026, with price per square foot down about 4 percent from a year earlier.
Keene is a small market, so a few sales can swing one month. Entry-level new homes at Ashton Homeplace, listed from about $237,000, pull the median down when they close in bunches.
Resale sellers compete with new construction and builder incentives a few streets away. Price against your own neighborhood’s recent sales, and make the condition and lot size do the talking.
Check city limits. A $260,000 homestead in Keene and Keene ISD pays about $4,398 a year at 2026 rates, about $2,438 outside city limits. The city has no general homestead exemption, only $15,000 for 65 and older or disabled.
A median of about 61 days means buyers have time to compare. New builds with incentives nearby keep resale listings honest on price.
The first two weeks bring the most traffic a listing will ever get. If they pass without an offer, that is pricing information. Acting in week three beats acting in week ten.
Two months on market gives you room to ask for closing costs, repairs or a rate buydown. With the 30-year rate at 7.24 percent on October 29, 2026, a seller-paid buydown can beat a small price cut.
Under 10 showings means buyers are deciding quickly. Rising counts mean people are walking through and walking away, which is a different problem from nobody looking at all.
This separates a pricing problem from a presentation problem. Plenty of showings and no offer usually means something specific is putting people off, and that is fixable without dropping the price.
High showings-to-pending means you can be selective without losing homes. Read it against days on market: low on both is a hot market, high on both means the leverage is yours.
Closed sales show how many homes actually changed hands. With few sales each month, appraisers may reach into nearby Cleburne, so comparables matter more here.
Low monthly volume means each recent sale carries weight in your pricing. I adjust for lot size, age and new versus resale before we set a number.
Some homes with Cleburne mailing addresses sit outside Keene city limits. Confirm city limits, school district and water provider before you compare prices across the line.
Charts supplied by NTREIS via 10K Research and Marketing and update automatically. Data reflects residential activity reported to the MLS and may be revised as late-reported sales come in. Redfin figures are for the three months ending August 2026 and include some Cleburne mailing addresses; builder prices are from builder websites in late October 2026 and change often; the mortgage rate is Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey for October 29, 2026. Tax figures are illustrations at 2026 adopted rates for a homestead in Keene city limits and Keene ISD, not quotes. The charts cover the NTREIS Keene area, which may include homes outside city limits. Market statistics describe the area as a whole and are not a substitute for a comparative market analysis on a specific property. Texas is a non-disclosure state, so publicly available sale prices elsewhere are estimates rather than recorded figures. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Pick a purchase year and the price fills in. If you own here, type over it with what you actually paid. This calculator runs on the Johnson County index, the federal repeat-sales measure for the county that holds Keene. A home bought in 2015 is worth more than twice its price on the index, with the biggest jump from 2021 to 2022 and almost no change from 2024 to 2025, while recent Keene sales are mostly entry-level new homes.
Bought here? Tap the number and enter what you paid.
Federal house price index growth, indexed to the purchase year, where the purchase year equals 100.
From 2015 to 2025 the Johnson County index rose about 114 percent, with a 22 percent jump from 2021 to 2022 alone.
It rose just 0.1 percent from 2024 to 2025, and Keene’s price per square foot fell about 4 percent in the year to August 2026.
Redfin’s Keene median for the three months ending August 2026 was about $259,800, pulled by entry-level new homes from about $237,000.
Type over the prefilled price with what you actually paid.
Owners who bought before 2021 carry large gains; many who bought from 2022 to 2025 have little or none, while builders nearby offer price cuts and rate specials.
Indexes are county-wide, so value any specific property from true comparables.
A $260,000 homestead in city limits and Keene ISD pays about $4,398 a year at 2026 rates, about 1.69 percent of value, or about $4,546 if ESD No. 1 applies.
Outside city limits in Keene ISD it’s about $2,438, because the city levy drops.
Growth rates are the FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index, annual values 2009 through 2025: Johnson County, Texas (FRED series ATNHPIUS48251A, base 2000 equals 100, last updated 31 March 2026), the State of Texas (TXSTHPI) and the United States (USSTHPI). State and national figures are annual averages of published quarters. The Johnson County series recorded 146.11 in 2015, 292.69 in 2022, 312.80 in 2024 and 313.11 in 2025. FHFA describes county indices as developmental and subject to revision, and the annual series does not cover 2026. No city-specific index was used, and a reliable year-by-year Keene median wasn’t found. The prefilled dollar figures are derived and illustrative, not published: they apply the Johnson County index to a $260,000 anchor near Redfin’s three-month Keene median ending August 2026 ($259,818). Keene medians move with the share of entry-level new construction, including Lennar homes listed from $236,999 and D.R. Horton homes from about $259,990 in October 2026, and Redfin’s Keene figures include some Cleburne mailing addresses. Builder incentives, including a D.R. Horton FHA rate special for contracts closing by October 30, 2026, change often and should be confirmed with the builder. The index is built from conforming loans and excludes jumbo lending and all-cash purchases. Equity figures assume a 30-year fixed mortgage at that year’s Freddie Mac annual average rate (2025 approximately 6.6 percent; 7.32 percent on October 22, 2026), held to today, with no refinancing, no extra principal and no additional borrowing. They exclude closing costs, property taxes, insurance, maintenance, improvements and selling costs. The tax example uses 2026 rates from the Johnson County Tax Office on a $260,000 homestead: City of Keene 0.810641 with no general homestead exemption, Keene ISD 0.949530 after the $140,000 exemption, Johnson County 0.367000 after its 5 percent exemption, the farm-to-market and lateral road levy 0.050000 and Hill College 0.048052. Whether Johnson County ESD No. 1 (0.057815) applies inside Keene city limits wasn’t confirmed, so both totals are shown. In Cleburne ISD, the same home would pay about $4,538 inside the city. Outside city limits, the example drops the city levy and adds ESD No. 1. Owners 65 and older or disabled receive additional exemptions and tax ceilings, including the city’s $15,000. No PID or MUD was identified for Keene; check every taxing unit on the appraisal record. It is an illustration, not a quote. The homestead appraisal cap limits increases in a homestead’s taxable appraised value to 10 percent a year and ends on sale. This is an illustration for general reference, not an appraisal, a comparative market analysis, a valuation or investment advice. Past appreciation does not predict future appreciation. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Keene is a Johnson County city the Census Bureau estimated at 7,109 residents in 2025 (6,387 in 2020), where Redfin’s median sale price was about $260,000 in mid-2026. It sits on US 67 just northeast of Cleburne, built around Southwestern Adventist University. The trade-offs are real: no supermarket or hospital in town, restricted alcohol sales, and no general city homestead exemption.
Estimated Off-Peak Drive Time from Keene City Hall
Around Town and Beyond
Estimated minutes off-peak from City Hall on N. Old Betsy Rd. These are planning estimates, so check a live map before relying on any of them.
Downtown Cleburne is about 10 to 12 minutes away, and the Chisholm Trail Parkway starts at US 67 in Cleburne for a toll route to downtown Fort Worth.
Alvarado and I-35W are about 12 minutes east on US 67.
Keene runs its own police department and a combination fire and EMS department with two MICU-level ambulances; the county lists its ISO rating as Class 3.
Water, wastewater and trash come on one city bill.
Southwestern Adventist University’s Dinosaur Science Museum is open to the public, with $9 general admission.
Elisa Carver Park is getting new court, trail and parking-lot lighting in 2026.
Metalplate Galvanizing broke ground at the city’s industrial park on CR 317 in May 2026, with an opening expected in spring 2027.
A new US 67 bypass exit onto FM 2280 was scheduled to open in November 2026, and new phases of The Canyons and Ashton Homeplace were approved in September.
There’s no supermarket, hospital or urgent care in town; groceries and the nearest ER are in Cleburne.
Keene is listed as dry for packaged and on-premise alcohol sales, and the city offers no general homestead exemption.
The city entered a Stage 1 drought watch on September 1, 2026, limiting sprinklers to twice a week.
Keene ISD voters rejected two school bonds while about 400 new homes are planned, and the city adopted the no-new-revenue tax rate in 2026 after its audits ran late.
Drive times are planning estimates from Keene City Hall, not live traffic or route-calculator results; check a live map before you rely on them. The Handbook of Texas places Keene about five miles northeast of Cleburne; other distances and around-town times weren’t measured. The median is Redfin’s three-month figure ending August 2026, and it includes some Cleburne mailing addresses. The ISO rating is from Johnson County’s fire services directory and wasn’t confirmed with the rating agency. Fire and police details, park lighting, the industrial park, the US 67 exit and subdivision approvals are from City of Keene meeting packets and releases; opening dates are projections. Alcohol status is from third-party summaries of TABC data and should be confirmed on TABC’s wet/dry list. Bond results are from news reports. Drought details are from the City of Keene. No crime, school ranking or flood zone claims are made. This information is provided for general reference and is not a representation about any specific property, commute or future development outcome. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Answered with verified specifics, from the city line, the missing homestead exemption and four school districts to utility deposits, trash days, alcohol rules and the dinosaur museum.
Keene sits on US 67 and FM 2280 (Old Betsy Rd.) in central Johnson County, about five miles northeast of Cleburne, according to the Handbook of Texas. Cleburne borders it on the west, and downtown Cleburne is about a 10- to 12-minute drive.
Downtown Fort Worth is roughly 30 miles north, about 35 to 40 minutes off-peak by our estimate, via the Chisholm Trail Parkway toll road, which starts at US 67 in Cleburne. Alvarado and I-35W are about 12 minutes east, and Dallas is about an hour northeast.
These are estimates, so test the drive at the hours you’d actually commute. City Hall is at 1000 N. Old Betsy Rd., 817-641-3336.
The 2020 census counted 6,387 residents in Keene, and the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 estimate is 7,109 as of July 1, 2025. Some sites show 6,427, which is the Bureau’s estimates base, not the census count.
The city covers about 4.96 square miles of land. It had about 500 residents in 1900, 1,532 in 1960 and 5,003 in 2000.
Growth is visible in 2026: the city approved new phases of The Canyons and Ashton Homeplace in September, and builders are active in Sunset Ridge and other communities. Keene ISD’s bond materials cite a study projecting about 400 more homes in the district by 2027. Census figures are total population only.
Settlers led by Jeremiah Easterwood arrived in 1852, and the community around their church-school became known as Elm Grove. The Santa Fe railroad reached the area around 1890.
In 1893 settlers arrived to found a school on 800 acres east of Cleburne, and Keene Industrial Academy opened on January 7, 1894, with 56 students. A post office opened that year, and the Handbook of Texas says postal officials selected the name Keene; who the name honors wasn’t confirmed.
The academy grew into today’s Southwestern Adventist University. A train nicknamed Old Betsy linked Keene to Cleburne from 1902, which is where Old Betsy Rd. gets its name, and the city incorporated in 1955.
For 2026, a home inside city limits and in Keene ISD pays about $2.23 per $100 of value before exemptions: City of Keene $0.810641, Keene ISD $0.94953, Johnson County $0.367, the county road levy $0.05 and Hill College $0.048052.
On a $260,000 homestead, that comes to about $4,398 a year, or about $4,546 if Johnson County ESD No. 1’s $0.057815 applies; whether it applies inside city limits wasn’t confirmed.
The city adopted its rate on September 17, 2026, at the no-new-revenue rate, and puts the city tax on its median homestead at $2,017. Outside city limits in Keene ISD, the same home pays about $2,438. These are illustrations; use the Johnson County Tax Office for a real figure.
The City of Keene offers no general homestead exemption on its city tax, according to the Johnson County Tax Office’s 2026 table. It does give a $15,000 exemption for owners 65 and older and a $15,000 exemption for disabled owners, plus a tax ceiling that freezes the city tax for those owners.
Other taxing units still give homestead exemptions: Keene ISD applies the state’s $140,000 exemption, Johnson County takes 5 percent off, and Hill College takes 1 percent with a $5,000 minimum.
File your homestead exemption with the Johnson County Appraisal District as soon as you own and live in the home. On a $260,000 home, the city line alone runs about $2,108 a year, so it’s worth budgeting for.
Maybe. Many Keene-area homes, and Keene City Hall itself, carry Cleburne 76031 mailing addresses, while other parts of the city use the Keene 76059 ZIP. A mailing address doesn’t decide which city taxes you or which school district serves you.
Look up the property on the Johnson County Appraisal District website and check the taxing units: “City of Keene” appears only if the home is inside city limits. Confirm the water provider too, since the Johnson County Special Utility District serves some nearby addresses directly.
Boundaries also shift. In July 2026 the city noted a property that left its extraterritorial jurisdiction by petition under a 2023 state law. Check the record first, before you compare tax bills.
Most of the city is in Keene ISD, a UIL 3A district of about 1,100 students that earned a B (87) in TEA’s 2025 ratings. Its campuses are Keene Elementary, The Summit Leadership Academy, Keene Junior High and Keene High School.
The City of Keene says residents can also be in Cleburne, Alvarado or Joshua ISD, depending on the parcel. Builder and listing sources disagree for some new communities, so check the appraisal record for every address.
Voters rejected a $25 million Keene ISD bond in November 2025 and again in May 2026. Keene ISD’s 2026 tax rate is $0.94953 per $100, down from $1.00941, and the district accepts some out-of-district transfers without tuition.
The City of Keene bills water, wastewater and trash together. Bring a completed new service application, a government photo ID and a lease or proof of ownership to City Hall, 1000 N. Old Betsy Rd., weekdays 8 to 5.
Residential deposits are $200 per water meter and $200 for the wastewater and trash account, plus a $50 connection fee during business hours. Inside city limits, the minimum monthly bill is about $72.61 plus tax.
Water is a $25 base charge that includes the first 1,000 gallons, then $8.70 per 1,000 gallons up to 20,000. Bills go out on the 20th and are due on the 7th. Starting February 2027, an opt-out ambulance membership of $7.75 will appear on the bill.
Republic Services collects trash once a week in Keene, on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday depending on your address on the city’s pickup map.
Carts can go to the curb no earlier than 7 p.m. the night before and must be brought back by 9 a.m. the day after, and they can’t be stored within 25 feet of the street. Trash is billed on the city utility bill.
For bulk items and brush, the city’s trash page describes setting out about one cubic yard with your cart each week, while an older city form describes a monthly pickup by request. The two conflict, so confirm the current rule with the city’s code enforcement office or Republic before a big cleanout.
Most of Keene is in Oncor’s delivery area, so you choose a retail electric provider while Oncor owns the lines and handles outages. Whether any edge areas are served by United Cooperative Services wasn’t confirmed, so check by address.
Natural gas comes from Atmos Energy; the city takes part in the regional Atmos cities rate process, most recently in August 2026.
For internet, AT&T Fiber and United Cooperative Services fiber are both reported in Keene, but coverage estimates vary widely between trackers. Enter your exact address with each provider and on the FCC National Broadband Map before you count on fiber.
Redfin’s Keene median sale price for the three months ending August 2026 was about $260,000, up 3.3 percent, while price per square foot fell about 4 percent to $155. Homes took a median 61 days to sell.
New construction drives much of the market. Lennar’s Ashton Homeplace listed homes from about $237,000 in late October 2026, and D.R. Horton’s The Canyons from about $260,000, both with buyer incentives that change often.
Because builder closings dominate recent sales, the median moves with the mix of new homes rather than with resale values. Ask for comparable sales on any home you’re considering, and compare builder incentives against resale prices.
No full-service supermarket has been confirmed in Keene. For a full grocery run, most residents drive about 10 to 15 minutes to Cleburne’s W. Henderson St., where H-E-B, Walmart and Kroger are located, or to Brookshire’s in Joshua.
In town, Old Betsy Rd. has two dollar stores, the Texas ABC & Food Center for vegetarian and health foods, a pharmacy and a handful of restaurants, coffee and donut shops.
The city’s economic development boards have discussed recruiting a grocer, and an O’Reilly Auto Parts had plans in city review in October 2026. Until a grocer arrives, plan on Cleburne for weekly shopping.
Not within city limits, as far as available sources show. Third-party summaries of Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission data list Keene as dry for both packaged sales and on-premise service; confirm on TABC’s wet/dry list.
The Cleburne Times-Review reported that a November 2008 election to allow beer and wine sales for off-premise consumption failed, 1,062 to 404. A 2017 petition drive sought another election, but whether it reached the ballot wasn’t confirmed.
Texas law allows possessing alcohol for personal use in a dry area, and stores and restaurants in neighboring Cleburne sell it. Local boards have discussed whether changing the rules could help attract a grocer, but no election had been called as of October 2026.
Yes. Southwestern Adventist University’s Dinosaur Science Museum, at 113 W. Magnolia St., is open to the public. General admission is $9, and admission is $7 for veterans, seniors, healthcare workers and children under 12.
School groups pay $6 per child. Walk-ins are welcome during open hours, and the museum asks for 48 hours’ notice for guided tour requests at 817-202-6336.
The museum opened in 2016 and displays bones from the university’s annual summer dig in Wyoming’s Lance Formation, which began in 1996. The university’s pages describe the collection as more than 30,000 bones, and some newer pages give a larger figure.
Elisa Carver Park, at 909 N. Old Betsy Rd., is the city’s main park, with a basketball court and walking trail. In August 2026 the city’s Type B economic development board funded $74,500 in new parking-lot, court and trail lighting.
The park also hosts the city’s Christmas Market and tree lighting each December. Sunset Ridge’s builder has said that community will include a pickleball court and a dog park.
For more space, Cleburne State Park and Lake Pat Cleburne are a short drive west, and Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose is about 40 minutes away by our estimate. Skate park plans for Keene weren’t confirmed.
There’s no hospital, emergency room or confirmed urgent care in Keene. In an emergency, call 911: Keene Fire/Rescue provides EMS with two MICU-level ambulances.
The nearest hospital is Texas Health Cleburne at 201 Walls Dr., about 12 minutes away by our estimate, and Texas Health Huguley in Burleson is about 22 to 25 minutes. Urgent care clinics are in nearby Cleburne and Alvarado.
In town, Old Betsy Rd. has Keene Pharmacy and dental offices. Starting February 1, 2027, households on the city utility bill will be enrolled in an ambulance transport membership at $7.75 unless they opt out.
There’s no fixed-route bus or rail service in Keene, so most residents rely on a car.
JC Connect, the new name since July 2026 for Johnson County’s shared-ride service formerly called Cletran, offers curb-to-curb rides from its base at 206 N. Border St. in Cleburne. Trips must start and end in Johnson County, except trips to the Huguley hospital campus and within Burleson.
Book by phone at 817-641-1800 or 866-913-1800, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., up to seven working days ahead; same-day trips are taken if space allows. Current fares weren’t confirmed, so ask when you book.
Yes. Keene entered Stage 1 Drought Watch on September 1, 2026, which limits sprinkler and irrigation-system watering to twice a week, with a 5 percent water-reduction goal. Hand-held hoses and buckets are allowed.
The city’s water comes from its own Trinity Aquifer wells plus treated water bought from the Johnson County Special Utility District. In 2025 the Texas Water Development Board approved about $3.5 million for a new well, a ground storage tank, pumps and line replacement.
Specific watering days weren’t confirmed, so check the city’s current notice before you plant new sod or set an irrigation schedule. The drought rules are in Chapter 51 of the city code.
Search the address on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center at msc.fema.gov to see its flood zone. Zones beginning with “A” are special flood hazard areas, where federally backed mortgages require flood insurance.
Flood questions come up in Keene’s new construction, too: some lots in The Canyons Phase 2 drew floodplain questions when the city approved the revised plat in September 2026.
Ask the seller for the Texas Seller’s Disclosure flood answers and any past flood claims, and get a flood insurance quote even outside a mapped zone. A survey and elevation certificate can show where a home sits relative to the floodplain.
Keene Fire/Rescue is a combination career-and-volunteer department working from one station on W. Hillcrest St. It runs two ambulances with MICU-level care and answers more than 1,800 calls a year.
Through a contract with Johnson County ESD No. 1, the department also covers about 12,000 more people across roughly 33 square miles outside the city. Johnson County’s fire directory lists its ISO rating as Class 3; ask for the city’s rating letter for insurance quotes.
The Keene Police Department is at 203 W. Hillcrest St., 817-641-7831, with after-hours non-emergency calls at 817-556-6045. The city hired a full-time fire marshal in 2026.
Answers were verified as of October 27, 2026, from the City of Keene and its council packets, the Johnson County Tax Office, the Johnson County Appraisal District, Johnson County’s fire services directory, Keene ISD, the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Water Development Board, Southwestern Adventist University, the Texas State Historical Association, the U.S. Census Bureau, JC Connect, Redfin, builder websites and Cleburne Times-Review and CBS Texas reporting. Rates, fees, providers and hours change; verify anything you intend to rely on. Tax figures use 2026 rates from the Johnson County Tax Office and are illustrations, not quotes; whether ESD No. 1 applies inside city limits wasn’t confirmed. Drive times are estimates and weren’t measured with a route calculator. Keene ISD’s 2026 rating wasn’t confirmed. Alcohol status is from third-party summaries of TABC data. Bulk trash rules conflict between city sources. Watering days, electric boundaries, fiber coverage, transit fares and the ISO rating letter weren’t confirmed. Builder prices and incentives change often. This is general information, not legal, tax, lending, insurance, environmental or engineering advice. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Verified numbers and links for Keene. Three things to check on every address: whether it’s inside city limits (even City Hall has a Cleburne mailing address), which school district serves it and who supplies the water. The city bills water, wastewater and trash together, and most city departments share one main line. Start with the green first-week cards; county offices are in blue, health and safety in red and regional contacts in purple.
Apply in person at City Hall with the new service application, a photo ID and a lease or proof of ownership. The rate table lists $200 per water meter plus $200 for wastewater and trash.
817-641-3336, option 2 1000 N. Old Betsy Rd. Do this firstPay water, wastewater and trash online; the inside-city minimum bill is about $72.61 plus tax.
municipalonlinepayments.com Do this firstFile your homestead exemption and check whether “City of Keene” and your school district are among your taxing units.
817-648-3000 109 N. Main St., Cleburne Do this firstVehicle registration and property tax payments; the main Cleburne office is closest to Keene, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
817-558-0122 2 N. Mill St., Cleburne Do this firstSign up for city call, text and email alerts for emergencies, weather and road closures; Notify Me covers news and agendas.
keenetx.com City HallGeneral questions, utility billing and council agendas. Open weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; mailing address reads Cleburne 76031.
817-641-3336 1000 N. Old Betsy Rd. Public WorksWater main breaks, sewer backups and debris in the road after 5 p.m. and on weekends.
817-240-5082 Public WorksStreets, drainage, water and sewer, mosquito control and stormwater.
817-641-3336, ext. 140 206 Pioneer Rd. PermitsDevelopment & Neighborhood Services handles permits, plan review and contractor registration; fences, pools and storage buildings over 200 square feet need permits.
817-641-3336, ext. 130 1000 N. Old Betsy Rd. CodeReport nuisance, zoning and property maintenance concerns online or by email at [email protected].
817-641-3336, ext. 131 CourtClass C citations, deferred disposition and defensive driving; 24-hour drop box (no cash).
817-641-3336, ext. 111 1000 N. Old Betsy Rd. PetsDog registration and lost pets, run by the Keene Police Department.
817-641-3336, ext. 109 203 W. Hillcrest St. RecordsOpen records requests, city elections and ETJ petitions.
817-641-3336, ext. 105 1000 N. Old Betsy Rd. AmbulanceA $7.75 monthly household membership starts on utility bills in February 2027; opt out by January 15, 2027 to avoid it.
817-641-3336 MailP.O. boxes and retail service, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
817-645-5978 203 S. Old Betsy Rd. CountyEnter an address to find your justice of the peace, constable and commissioner precincts.
johnsoncountytx.org CountyVoter registration, mail ballots and voting locations.
817-556-6197 103 S. Walnut St., Cleburne Outside city limitsPermits, floodplain review and septic (OSSF) for unincorporated addresses.
817-556-6380 2 N. Mill St., Cleburne CountyLaw enforcement for unincorporated areas outside Keene city limits.
817-556-6060 1102 E. Kilpatrick St., Cleburne CountyFunds fire and EMS outside city limits, including areas Keene Fire Rescue covers by contract.
817-556-2212 2451 Service Dr., Cleburne CountyCounty disaster planning and preparedness.
817-556-6346 810 E. Kilpatrick St., Cleburne CountySoil tests, ag-valuation education, 4-H and Master Gardeners.
817-556-6370 StateLicenses and ID cards in Cleburne; book an appointment online.
dps.texas.gov 600 W. Kilpatrick St., Cleburne LibraryThe nearest public library; nonresident cards are $25 a year per household.
817-645-0934 302 W. Henderson St., Cleburne TrashWeekly cart pickup is billed by the city; bulk pickup is the first Tuesday of the month, so call by noon the day before.
254-221-4418 ElectricMost of Keene is in Oncor’s retail-choice area; report outages 24/7 or text OUT to 66267.
888-313-4747 ElectricMember-owned electric co-op and fiber internet provider; confirm service by address.
817-556-4000 3309 N. Main St., Cleburne GasStart or stop gas service. For a gas leak, leave and call 866-322-8667 and 911.
888-286-6700 WaterSells treated water to the city and serves some Keene-area addresses directly.
817-760-5200 740 FM 3048, Joshua DiggingCall before you dig for fences, pools or septic.
811 InternetCheck fiber and other internet providers for an exact address.
broadbandmap.fcc.gov WellsRegister or permit a private water well before drilling.
817-556-2299 208 Kimberly Dr., Cleburne SchoolsEnrollment, campuses, transfers and the 2026–27 calendar.
817-774-5200 3625 E. US 67 SchoolsTEA’s official site for district ratings and a school search by address.
txschools.gov UniversityThe university at the center of town, home to the Dinosaur Science Museum.
817-645-3921 100 W. Hillcrest St. CollegeCommunity college courses and workforce training in Cleburne.
817-760-5500 2112 Mayfield Pkwy., Cleburne FloodCheck the flood zone for any address before you buy.
msc.fema.gov Urgent careThe closest walk-in clinic, open daily 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; not an emergency room.
817-526-5509 808 N. Nolan River Rd., Cleburne HospitalThe nearest hospital, with a 24/7 emergency room.
817-641-2551 201 Walls Dr., Cleburne HospitalFull-service hospital with a 24/7 emergency room, north on I-35W.
817-293-9110 11801 South Fwy., Burleson PharmacyThe in-town pharmacy, also a UPS shipping location; open weekdays, closed weekends.
817-558-3341 114 S. Old Betsy Rd. Mental healthJohnson County’s mental health authority. Crisis line: 1-800-772-5987, available 24/7, or dial 988.
817-579-4400 SafetyRecords and reports, lobby open weekdays; after hours, call 817-556-6045 for non-emergencies and 911 for emergencies.
817-641-7831 203 W. Hillcrest St. SafetyFire, rescue and MICU-level EMS from a combination department; burn permits through the fire marshal.
817-556-2474 201 W. Hillcrest St. TollsTollTag accounts for the Chisholm Trail Parkway, which starts at US 67 in Cleburne.
972-818-6882 StateState roads, including US 67 and FM 2280 (Old Betsy Rd.).
817-370-6500 TransitJohnson County’s curb-to-curb shared rides, booked weekdays.
817-641-1800Links, phone numbers and addresses verified October 2026 against the City of Keene, Johnson County, the Johnson County Tax Office and Appraisal District, Johnson County ESD No. 1, the Johnson County Special Utility District, Keene ISD, Southwestern Adventist University, Hill College, the City of Cleburne and the health care providers listed, and subject to change; if something has moved, tell me and I will correct it. Many Keene homes, and City Hall itself, carry Cleburne 76031 mailing addresses, and homes outside city limits get county, sheriff and ESD services instead of the city’s. Confirm every taxing unit, the water provider and the school district before you buy. Conflicts flagged: the city’s pages list both a $200 and a $400 utility deposit; 817-556-6045 is listed both as Keene’s after-hours police line and as county dispatch; and the DPS office phone differs between sources. Which justice of the peace precinct covers Keene wasn’t confirmed; use the precinct lookup. Keene Pharmacy’s 2026 hours and the Oncor, Atmos, NTTA, Prairielands, United Cooperative and Pecan Valley numbers are from directories and earlier Johnson County research. A burn ban was posted in late October 2026; check the city’s alerts for current status. A Chamber of Commerce contact and an Elisa Carver Park page weren’t confirmed for this list. Listings are provided for general reference and are not endorsements; I receive no compensation from any organization named. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Keene, a Johnson County city of 6,387 at the 2020 census and an estimated 7,109 by 2025, sits on US 67 just northeast of Cleburne. Many homes here, and City Hall itself, use Cleburne mailing addresses, so two homes on the same road can come with different taxes, schools, police and water providers. I sort out the details that matter here, and the awkward parts are named.
Many Keene homes, and even Keene City Hall, carry a Cleburne 76031 mailing address. If “City of Keene” isn’t a taxing unit on the appraisal district record, the home is in the county. On a $260,000 homestead, that’s about $4,398 a year inside the city in Keene ISD versus about $2,438 outside, and a tract left Keene’s ETJ under a new state law in 2026. I pull that record first.
Keene taxes homesteads on full value, with no general homestead exemption, so the city line alone runs about $2,108 a year on a $260,000 home. Cleburne, next door, exempts 10 percent with a $5,000 minimum. Keene does give owners 65 and older or disabled a $15,000 exemption and a tax ceiling. I build the full bill, line by line, before you compare homes.
Homes around Keene can fall in Keene, Cleburne, Alvarado or Joshua ISD. Listing sites even disagree on Ashton Homeplace. Keene ISD expects about 400 new homes by 2027, roughly 244 more students, after voters rejected two $25 million bonds. I confirm the district on the appraisal record and with the district for the exact address.
Keene pumps from its own Trinity Aquifer wells and buys treated water from the Johnson County Special Utility District. It has been in Stage 1 drought watch since September 1, 2026, with sprinklers limited to twice a week. A $3.5 million state package is funding a new well and a 50,000-gallon storage tank, with no completion date yet. Budget the deposits and plan landscaping around it.
Redfin’s Keene median was about $260,000 for the three months ending August 2026, with a median 61 days on market. Lennar’s Ashton Homeplace lists from about $237,000 to $268,000 with HOA dues near $50, and D.R. Horton’s The Canyons starts near $260,000 with rotating incentives. I push builders to apply incentives to a rate buydown and check resale comps.
The Chisholm Trail Parkway starts at US 67 in Cleburne, about 15 minutes away, for a toll route to downtown Fort Worth; NTTA is widening it through about 2028. US 67 east reaches I-35W in Alvarado in about 12 minutes, and a new US 67 bypass exit onto FM 2280 was scheduled for November 2026. Test the drive at rush hour.
Keene has real trade-offs: no supermarket, hospital or urgent care in town, restricted alcohol sales, limited dining, a drought watch, school bonds that failed twice and a $7.75 monthly ambulance membership added to utility bills from February 2027 unless you opt out. North Texas hail and wind are real, too. If any of that is a dealbreaker, you will hear it from me first.
Confirm city limits on the appraisal district record, whatever the mailing address says. Second, budget the city tax without a homestead exemption. Third, confirm the school district: Keene, Cleburne, Alvarado or Joshua. Fourth, check the water provider and plan for the utility deposits. Fifth, check the flood map and permit rules for fences, pools and sheds. And sixth, drive the commute to the parkway or I-35W at rush hour.
Keene-specific things to raise with all four. Freddie Mac’s 30-year average was 7.32 percent on October 22, 2026, and with builders competing, ask how a seller-paid buydown compares with a price cut. A typical Keene home falls under the FHA limit for Johnson County, which lenders list at $563,500 (confirm with HUD), and the $832,750 conforming limit. Ask about TSAHC and TDHCA programs. Make sure the escrow estimate reflects Keene’s city tax with no homestead exemption, and budget the city’s utility deposits at move-in. I recommend these lenders based on their expertise and service. I do not receive compensation for referrals.
Either is fine. I answer my own phone, and you will never be routed to a call center or handed to a junior agent. Send me an address and I will tell you whether it’s inside Keene city limits, which school district serves it, who supplies the water and what the full tax bill looks like.
Bobby Franklin, REALTOR® · Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team · 214-228-0003 · northtexasmarketinsider.com
Information on this page is provided for general reference and is not legal, tax, insurance, environmental, engineering or lending advice. Tax figures are illustrations for a $260,000 homestead using 2026 rates from the Johnson County Tax Office, including the City of Keene’s $0.810641 and Keene ISD’s $0.94953; they exclude Johnson County ESD No. 1, whose application inside city limits wasn’t confirmed, and they are not quotes. Cleburne’s exemption is from its code of ordinances. The ETJ release is from the City of Keene’s August 6, 2026, council packet; the state law behind it faces a court challenge. School district assignment is determined by address; listing sources conflict for Ashton Homeplace. Bond details and the 400-home projection are from the district’s bond materials and news reports. Water details are from the City of Keene and the Texas Water Development Board; specific watering days aren’t posted. Market figures are Redfin’s for the three months ending August 2026; builder prices are from builder websites in late October 2026 and change often. Parkway and US 67 details are from NTTA, news reports and City of Keene meeting packets, and schedules may change. The ambulance membership is from City of Keene council minutes. The mortgage rate is Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey for October 22, 2026; the FHA limit is from lender tables and should be confirmed with HUD; the conforming limit is FHFA’s 2026 limit. All real estate services are provided through Legacy Realty Group. Equal Housing Opportunity.
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Waxahachie, TX 75165
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