Texas is home to seven of the top 20 ZIP codes in the U.S. in a new Opendoor analysis
DALLAS — This article was originally published by our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal. You can read the original article here.
Two Dallas-area ZIP codes ranked highly in Opendoor Technologies Inc.’s annual list of the hottest ZIP codes in the country for home sales.
Forney’s 75126 ZIP code came in sixth and McKinney’s 75071 ranked 12th on the list of 20 “most popular” places for housing highlighted by the online residential real estate firm.
Top ZIP codes were identified by analyzing data from local multiple listing services and ranked by total homes that went under contract within 90 days of listing in 2024.
The latest ZIP code rankings underscore continuing housing and population trends taking place in and around Dallas.
Forney, for example, is in Kaufman County, which posted the highest percentage growth of any county in the state between the start of 2020 and Jan. 1, 2024 — up 26.7% to 184,070 people, according to the latest population estimates. McKinney is the county seat of much larger Collin County. It is also growing quickly, with about 128,627 people added in the same timeframe, a 13.6% increase to more than 1.2 million.
The 2024 population estimates, gleaned from the Texas Demographics Center and released in November, show that the bulk of population growth in the Dallas area is occurring in the suburbs, so naturally that’s where home sales are hottest. The city of Dallas and Dallas County eked out only small gains in the latest headcount. Dallas County has added only 16,399 people since 2020, a 0.6% increase, putting the county’s population just north of 2.6 million.
In addition, Forney is benefitting from prospective buyers hunting for some of the more affordable homes in DFW. Even with a sharp rise in home prices in the last four years, cities such as Forney, Terrell, Lancaster, Hutchins, Wilmer and others generally east and south of Dallas offer relative bargains compared with neighborhoods closer to downtown, in North Dallas and in the suburbs to the north.
Elsewhere in the Lone Star State, two ZIP codes in the Houston area and three along the I-35 corridor from Austin to San Antonio also made Opendoor’s list. Texas, with seven of the nation’s 20 hottest ZIP codes, and Florida, with eight of the hottest ZIPs, dominated the list — leaving just five open spots for all the other states combined.
The two Houston-area ZIP codes, 77493 in Katy and 77433 in Cypress, topped the ranking. San Antonio’s 78253 ZIP code came in third and nearby New Braunfels’ 78130 ZIP followed at No. 4. Kyle’s 78640 ZIP code, just south of Austin, ranked No. 10.
Nationwide, ZIP codes near the top of the rankings tended to be in fast-growing cities near metro hubs with plenty of new development, Nick Boniakowski, Opendoor’s head of agent partnerships, told Austin Business Journal. That’s a good description for places like Forney and Kyle, which are positioned along major corridors, making commuting easier for homeowners.
Boniakowski described the overall 2024 housing market as challenging, with low inventory and high prices leading to reduced numbers of homebuyers. Still, Texas as a whole remains attractive due its torrid growth in population and jobs, he said.
Boniakowski’s not expecting an immediate bounce-back in 2025, although he said there should be a gradual improvement in the housing market.
Austin Business Journal contributed to this report.
