Texas · Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area

Buying a home in Garland, Texas

In Garland, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $270,800, 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 $1,641 a month.

Data as of : Census ACS 2020-2024, Census Vintage 2024, HMDA 2025, HUD FY 2027. Sources

Garland home costs, fact by fact

About Garland

Garland lies in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area, ranked 4th among U.S. metro areas, and is an incorporated city in Texas. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom in Dallas County is $1,807, while median gross rent is $1,641 per month. Owners estimate the median home value at $270,800, which is not a sale price, and 61.6% of homes are owner-occupied.

Reading the Garland figures

Start with rent, because that is where Garland looks different from most Dallas-area cities. The census median is $1,641 a month. Irving shows $1,619, a little lower, and Mesquite $1,513, lower still. Dallas drops to $1,472, and Houston, at the far end of this comparison, to $1,361. The HUD benchmark for the Dallas metro zone runs higher: $1,807 for its smaller-home tier, plus $2,275 for the larger one. It is a federal reference point and not a market median, but it hints that renting a larger home here can cost more than the census median implies.

Owning looks more modest on value. Owners estimate the median home at $270,800, below the Texas figure of $318,100. Dallas reports $320,700, so Garland sits under it. Arlington reports $304,700, also higher. Houston comes close with $277,800, while Mesquite falls to $245,700 and San Antonio to $235,700. Remember that owners supplied these numbers rather than closings, so they describe sentiment as much as transactions.

About 61.6% of households own their homes. That is a bigger share than Dallas (42.4%) or Irving (38.1%), a little above Grand Prairie (58.7%), and a touch under Mesquite (62.8%). A city with a high owner share and a median value below the state figure often reads as owner-oriented, and Garland's rent of $1,641 sits close to the ownership picture rather than far from it, though these numbers alone cannot confirm how many homes are actually for sale.

Taxes follow Dallas County, where the median annual bill is $4,798. The effective rate is 1.58%, applied to a typical county home valued at $303,000. Garland's median value sits below that county figure, so a typical Garland purchase would carry a value under the one behind the county bill. Use the county number as a ceiling-style reference rather than an exact quote.

For financing, lenders in the county recorded 15,629 loans in 2025. Median total costs came to $8,710, and the middle of the distribution stretched from $5,744 to $12,517. That upper end is a reminder to request a loan estimate early and compare lenders before committing to one.

Garland has 250,431 residents, a count close to Irving's 258,060 and well above Grand Prairie's 207,331. It belongs to the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area, ranked 4th in the country with 8,344,032 people. The city touches 2 counties, but the tax and loan figures above come from Dallas County, which is the reference for every dollar amount in the paragraph on taxes. A buyer comparing Garland with Mesquite, which reports $245,700 and 150,140 residents, or with Irving, which reports $315,600, can see how much the Dallas area spreads out on value even where the loan and tax inputs are shared.

Calculate for Texas

If you buy

Texas state transfer tax

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

Price$318,100
State transfer tax$0
Share of the price—

Default price: the Texas median value of owner-occupied homes, $318,100 (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.

Questions about buying a home in Garland

How much is property tax in Garland?

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 Garland?

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 Garland?

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 Garland?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Garland ($270,800) equals 13.8 years of the median gross rent ($1,641 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Garland?

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.

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Texas rules that apply in Garland

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Sources

Texas · All states · Federal guides