San Antonio real estate market ranks among America's worst for 2026

The San Antonio real estate market surprisingly doesn't stack up well against the rest of the nation right now, a new report has revealed.

WalletHub's annual study, "Best Real Estate Markets (2026)," compares the real estate markets in 300 U.S. cities based on 17 relevant metrics, such as "housing market attractiveness," home value forecasts, housing affordability, population growth, and many others. Cities were also ranked by size: large cities with over 300,000 residents; midsize cities with 150,000-300,000 residents; and small cities with fewer than 150,000 residents.

In the overall ranking of the best housing markets in America, regardless of city size, San Antonio ranks 248th out of all 300 cities. And among America's 69 biggest cities, San Antonio's housing market ranks 55th.

Despite the city having the 37th best "affordability and economic environment" rank in the nation, the overall state of the real estate market ranks No. 268 nationally, according to the report's findings.

The highest-performing housing markets in Texas
On the other site of the spectrum, two popular North Texas suburbs — Frisco and McKinney — topped WalletHub's overall list of the best real estate markets in the U.S. for 2026 at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, and they locked in the top two spots in the midsize city ranking, too.

Frisco tops the nationwide "affordability and economic environment" category, and ranks No. 2 nationally for its real estate market.

"When you look at home prices as a percentage of income, [Frisco] is the 95th-cheapest among the 300 cities in our study," the report said. "But it’s the 11th-cheapest city for phone service and the 11th-cheapest for maintenance and energy."

Frisco boasts the highest share of houses that were built between 2010 and 2024, at nearly 47 percent, which WalletHub says is "good news for people who want all the benefits of a recently-constructed home," without having to "put in a lot of work" to renovate an older or run down home.

"If you aim to make a profit in the long run with your housing purchase, you’ll need to look beyond tangible factors like square footage and style," the report's author wrote. "Those factors certainly drive up property values. From an investor’s standpoint, though, they hold less significance than historical market trends and the economic health of residents."

Nearby Denton and Allen also made the overall top 10, respectively ranking as the 5th and 8th best real estate markets in the U.S. for 2026. Denton similarly ranked 5th in the midsize city rankings, and Allen topped the list of small cities.

The top 10 best real estate markets in America for 2026 are:

• No. 1 – Frisco, Texas
• No. 2 – McKinney, Texas
• No. 3 – Murfreesboro, Tennessee
• No. 4 – Durham, North Carolina
• No. 5 – Denton, Texas
• No. 6 – Cary, North Carolina
• No. 7 – Madison, Wisconsin
• No. 8 – Allen, Texas
• No. 9 – Charlotte, North Carolina
• No. 10 – Irvine, California