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Buying a home in Dallas, Texas

In Dallas, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $354,400, Dallas County's effective property tax rate is 1.58%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $8,710 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $1,472 a month.

Data as of : Census ACS 2025 1-year, Census Vintage 2024, FHFA HPI 2026Q2, Census ACS 2020-2024, HMDA 2025, HUD FY 2027. Sources

Checked on against the official sources listed at the bottom of the page.

Dallas home costs, fact by fact

Calculate for Dallas

If you buy

Texas state transfer tax

Texas has no real estate transfer tax. Change the price: the amount is recalculated instantly.

Price$354,400
State transfer tax$0
Share of the price—

Default price: the Dallas median value of owner-occupied homes, $354,400 (Census ACS 2025). Rule: No transfer tax exists. Buyers pay county recording fees and a state-set title insurance premium. Who pays: No transfer tax to assign. Recording fees and the title insurance premium appear on the closing statement. Not included: county and city transfer taxes, recording fees, title insurance and lender charges. Texas transfer tax guide · all 50 states.

If you sell

Capital gain and the federal tax on it

Same federal rule in every state: Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes up to $250,000 of gain on a main home ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly).

Capital gain$350,000
Section 121 exclusion$250,000 (limit $250,000)
Taxable gain$100,000
Type of gainLong-term (owned over 1 year), 15% chosen
Federal tax on the gain$15,000

Section 121 excludes $250,000; the rest is taxable.

Gain = sale price minus your adjusted basis (purchase price, buying costs and improvements); selling expenses reduce it (IRS Publication 523). Long-term rates for sales in 2026, by taxable income including the gain (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.03): 0% up to $49,450 single or $98,900 married filing jointly, 15% up to $545,500 single or $613,700 jointly, 20% above. Not included: Texas state income tax on the gain (not computed), the net investment income tax, depreciation recapture on a rental or home office, and the reduced exclusion for an early sale. Agent commissions are negotiated and never set by law. Capital gains on a home sale.

In short

The median value of owner-occupied homes in the city of Dallas is $354,400, according to the Census Bureau’s 2025 American Community Survey. For the 2026 tax year, a home inside Dallas ISD pays a combined rate of $2.250760 per $100 of taxable value, according to the Dallas County Tax Office’s 2026 rate table. Texas has no real estate transfer tax.

How much homes cost in Dallas

The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) asks owners how much they think their home would sell for. The median of those answers is a useful benchmark, but it is not a sale price: it covers every owner-occupied home, including homes bought long ago. Our page on Texas home prices explains the method in detail.

AreaMedian value, 2025 (ACS)Margin of error (90%)
City of Dallas$354,400±$11,342
Dallas County$336,500±$4,368
Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metro area$392,000±$2,717
Texas$318,100±$1,418
United States$371,100±$646

*Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 1-Year Estimates 2025, table B25077.

Are Dallas prices rising?

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) tracks repeat sales of the same single-family homes. Its purchase-only, seasonally adjusted index for the Dallas–Plano–Irving metro division, published August 25, 2026, shows:

Area1-year change (Q2 2025 to Q2 2026)5-year change (Q2 2021 to Q2 2026)
Dallas–Plano–Irving metro division−0.1%+26.2%
Texas+0.5%+25.1%
United States+2.1%+33.4%

Source: FHFA House Price Index, quarterly purchase-only files. Changes calculated by Payotte from the published index values.

Prices in the Dallas area were essentially flat over the past year, after a gain of about a quarter over five years.

Closing costs at the median price

On top of the price, buyers and sellers pay closing costs: lender fees, the appraisal, the survey, escrow and recording fees, and title insurance. Several of these depend on the loan and on the providers you choose, so there is no single official figure.

We do not estimate the title insurance premium on this page. For the rules, who usually pays each item and a worked example, see our guide to closing costs in Texas and our page on title insurance in Texas.

Property tax in Dallas

The Texas Comptroller states that Texas has no state property tax: local taxing units set the rates. A home in the city of Dallas inside Dallas ISD is taxed by the five units below, and the Dallas County Tax Office collects for all of them. Your appraisal notice and your Dallas Central Appraisal District (DCAD) account list the exact units for your address; the table below assumes Dallas ISD.

Taxing unit2025 rate (per $100)2026 rate posted (per $100)
City of Dallas0.6988000.697800
Dallas ISD0.9938350.985735
Dallas County0.2155000.248650
Parkland Hospital (Dallas County Hospital District)0.2120000.212000
Dallas College0.1065750.106575
Total2.2267102.250760

Sources: Dallas County Tax Office, “Past Tax Rates” (2025) and “2026 Tax Rates”; Dallas Central Appraisal District rate tables.

The 2026 rates are the adopted rates posted by the Dallas County Tax Office, which collects for all five taxing units. The county’s own rate rose the most: the Tax Office notice says Dallas County “adopted a tax rate that will raise more taxes for maintenance and operations than last year’s tax rate”, an effective increase of 22.02%. The 2025 column shows last year’s final rates for comparison.

A worked example

Take a home with a taxable value equal to the Dallas median, $354,400, and no exemptions. At the 2026 combined rate:

  • $354,400 ÷ 100 × 2.250760 = $7,977 a year, or about $665 a month. At the 2025 rate, the same home paid about $7,891.

Exemptions lower the taxable value. DCAD’s 2026 table lists a 20% optional homestead exemption for the City of Dallas and Dallas County, and, for Dallas ISD, a $140,000 general homestead exemption plus a 10% local option. Homeowners aged 65 or older and disabled homeowners get larger exemptions. Our Texas property tax guide explains how to apply and how to protest your value.

To see how property tax can be paid through your monthly mortgage payment, read our guide to escrow accounts.

No transfer tax in Dallas

The Dallas County Tax Office and DCAD rate tables list property taxes only, and no transfer tax applies to a Dallas purchase. The Texas Constitution (Article 8, Section 29, added in November 2015) provides that no law enacted after January 1, 2016, may impose a transfer tax on a transaction that conveys fee simple title to real property. The same section still allows a tax on the issuance of title insurance. Details are on our page about transfer tax in Texas.

Texas guides for Dallas buyers

Frequently asked questions

What is the median home price in Dallas?

The Census Bureau’s 2025 American Community Survey puts the median value of owner-occupied homes in the city of Dallas at $354,400 (±$11,342). This is what owners think their home is worth, not the median sale price of recent sales.

Are home prices in Dallas going down?

According to the FHFA purchase-only index, prices in the Dallas–Plano–Irving metro division fell 0.1% between the second quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2026, which is essentially flat. Over five years, they rose 26.2%.

What is the property tax rate in Dallas?

For the 2026 tax year, a home in the city of Dallas inside Dallas ISD pays a combined rate of $2.250760 per $100 of taxable value: city, Dallas ISD, Dallas County, Parkland Hospital and Dallas College. Homestead exemptions reduce the taxable value.

How much property tax would I pay on a median-priced home in Dallas?

On a taxable value of $354,400 with no exemptions, the 2026 combined rate gives about $7,977 a year. With a homestead exemption, the bill is lower; your DCAD account shows your exemptions and taxable values.

Does Dallas have a transfer tax?

No. Article 8, Section 29 of the Texas Constitution bars any law enacted after January 1, 2016, from imposing a transfer tax on a transaction that conveys fee simple title to real property. Our transfer tax page has the details.

More Texas guides

Sources

Questions about buying a home in Dallas

How much is property tax in Dallas?

Homeowners in Dallas County pay a median $4,798 a year in property tax, 1.58% of the county median home value of $303,000 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Dallas?

Home-purchase mortgages in Dallas County carried median total loan costs of $8,710 in 2025; half of the 15,629 loans fell between $5,744 and $12,517 (HMDA). Total loan costs are the lender and settlement-service charges of the Closing Disclosure; transfer taxes and prepaid items come on top.

Is there a transfer tax when you buy a home in Dallas?

Texas has no real estate transfer tax. Article VIII, Section 29 of the Texas Constitution, added November 3, 2015, says no law enacted after January 1, 2016 may impose a transfer tax on a transaction that conveys fee simple title to real property.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Dallas?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Dallas ($320,700) equals 18.2 years of the median gross rent ($1,472 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Dallas?

Across Texas, the main hazards for home insurance are flood, tornado, wind and hail, and the insurer of last resort is Texas FAIR Plan Association (TFPA). Texas gets more tornadoes than any other state, according to the Texas Department of Insurance; on the coast, windstorm coverage comes from a separate policy, often from TWIA, in 14 coastal counties plus part of Harris County.

Run your own numbers: rent vs buy calculator · closing costs calculator.

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Other large cities: see cities in Texas.

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