Texas Builders Shift Capital to Secondary Markets as 2025 Permits Rise 2.5%
Updated
Updated · HousingWire · Jun 19
Texas Builders Shift Capital to Secondary Markets as 2025 Permits Rise 2.5%
1 articles · Updated · HousingWire · Jun 19
Summary
Weatherford and College Station are drawing more Texas homebuilding and investment capital as slower statewide growth and higher financing costs push developers toward markets with cheaper land, faster entitlements and steadier demand.
Texas still outpaces the U.S. on jobs, but the Dallas Fed says growth is moderating; statewide single-family permits are projected to rise 2.5% in 2025, extending starts growth for a second year rather than reviving boom-era conditions.
Weatherford — a city of about 30,000 on DFW’s western edge — offers average home prices near $350,000, scalable land and demand concentrated roughly between $350,000 and $850,000 from buyers priced out of core suburbs.
College Station shows a different secondary-market model: Texas A&M and related healthcare and research activity support average single-family prices around $400,000, up about 8% year over year, while days on market have fallen to about 32.
The shift suggests secondary Texas markets are moving from portfolio add-ons to core strategy, with builders and investors prioritizing employer-anchored, attainable communities over marquee ZIP codes that no longer guarantee easy appreciation.