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Texas is Building More Houses than Any Other U.S. State, According to Landmark Realtor.com® Report

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Last year, Texas was the number one state for new house permits, accounting for 15% of the U.S. total while Texas only accounts for 9% of the U.S. population.

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Realtor.com® released a landmark report on housing, economic, and migratory conditions in Texas over recent years. As the fastest growing state in the union, this new report examines who is moving to Texas, why they are coming, and what makes the Lone Star State an attractive destination for businesses that choose to invest here.

"The state has grown rapidly in the last several years as people from across the country and across the world have seen what Texas has to offer," said Danielle Hale, chief economist, Realtor.com®. "In the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Texas economy has boomed, especially in high-demand industries like technology, education, manufacturing and construction. Already-scarce housing inventory from years of under-building was flooded with cash offers, and listing prices and rents soared. Texas has responded by building more and smaller homes to meet demand, helping the market settle and housing inventory climb back to pre-pandemic levels ahead of the nationwide recovery."

This new report found that the top reasons households move to Texas from out of state are because of housing, jobs, and climate.

Who's Coming and Why
More than 1 in 4 people shopping for homes in Texas, according to Realtor.com® data, are from out of state. The two largest sources of immigration to Texas are international migration and relocation from California.

"The Texas economy is a model for other states," said Damian Eales, CEO, Realtor.com®. "Residents are attracted to Texas first and foremost for its affordable housing, followed by its favorable climate and abundant jobs. This has put Texas on a path to potentially become the largest state by the year 2045. Those are among the many reasons why at Realtor.com®, we're proud to call Texas home, as hundreds of our employees already do."

Texas is Building More Affordable Homes than the Rest of the Country
Texas was the number one state for new house permits accounting for 15% of the 2024 U.S. total, punching well-above its 9% share of the U.S. population.

They say that everything is bigger in Texas, but there's one important exception to that rule when it comes to housing affordability: new homes. The median newly constructed home on the market in Texas was 2,073 square feet, down from 2,189 in 2020, a 5.3% decrease. Over this time period, new homes in the United States at large have fallen from 2,112 square feet to 2,035, just a 3.6% reduction. Texas is a proven leader in the push to build more affordable new homes, and in the last two years, the share of new builds on the market priced under $350,000 has increased while the shares of new builds priced from $350,000 to $750,000 and from $750,000 to $2,000,000 have both fallen.