The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex will likely lead American real estate in 2026, according to a new report.
DFW is the top “market to watch” in 2026 for the second year in a row, according to a study from the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
“Dallas mirrors the national economy in its sector diversification, making it resilient and attractive for investment,” the study reads.
The other top 10 real estate markets will be, in descending order, Jersey City, Miami, Brooklyn, Houston, Nashville, Northern New Jersey, and Tampa/St. Petersburg. Petersburg, Manhattan, and Phoenix.
“Attractive real estate markets are determined by a combination of demographic growth and supply constraints, with the Northeast and Southeast regions currently seen as particularly favorable,” the study reads.
DFW also led the nation in homebuilding prospects. The other top 10 regions will be listed in descending order: Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Inland Empire, Washington D.C./Northern Virginia, and Tampa/St. Petersburg, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Philadelphia.
To reach these conclusions, researchers gathered insights from over 1,700 real estate investors, developers, lenders, and advisors across America and Canada. They found the real estate market is “neither standing still nor returning to old norms.”
“It is reshaping itself for a new era as technology integrates across the built environment, and demographic shifts create new demand patterns,” the report summary reads.
They also found that economic uncertainty and higher financing costs are creating a “fog” over the future.
WalletHub ranked McKinney as the top real estate market in America in 2025, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Meanwhile, many firms are moving from Wall Street to “Y’all Street” – with Dallas’ new stock exchange raising $63.4 million ahead of its 2026 launch, as The Dallas Express previously reported. In October, Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank bought Dallas-based Comerica in a $10.9 billion deal.
After socialist Zohran Mamdani won the mayor’s office in New York City, some Texas leaders are preparing for businesses to flee to the Lone Star State, as The Dallas Express reported. In June, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson invited economic refugees from New York.