housing boom

San Antonio named No. 10 U.S. housing market for new home construction

San Antonio has issued over 1,800 new building permits over the first two months of 2026.

A new housing report from ConsumerAffairs has revealed San Antonio is home to the 10th highest concentration of new home development in the nation.

The research team at ConsumerAffairs analyzed data on new building permits and new construction home sales across 150 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas in January and February of 2026. Cities were scored using two equally weighted metrics: total new residential building permits (sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Building Permits Survey) and total new construction home sales (sourced from Zillow) during the two-month period.

Texas is home to four of the top 10 cities with the highest rates of new home construction: Dallas booted Houston from the top spot down to No. 2, with Austin (No. 7) moving up the ladder and San Antonio slipping into 10th place after ranking eighth last year.

The report found 1,815 new building permits were issued and 1,685 new construction homes were sold across January and February in San Antonio. The city has the fourth-highest rate of new-build home sales in the country.

The report says new movers and first-time homebuyers shouldn't overlook the Alamo City when trying to find an affordable place in Texas to live.

"Buyers also don’t have to pay a premium for newly built homes [in San Antonio]," the report said. "The city’s February median sale price for new builds was just $950 higher than the median price for preexisting homes."

The San Antonio-New Braunfels metro additionally ranks No. 20 for new home construction in a separate ranking across the biggest U.S. metros. Nearly 15,000 new residential units — single-family homes, apartments, and condos — were authorized in the greater San Antonio area in 2024.

Dallas leads the country with the most new home construction
Dallas led the nation with the highest concentration of new home construction, the report found. Over 11,000 new building permits have been issued in Dallas during the first two months of 2026, and 3,009 newly built homes were sold during the same period.

ConsumerAffairs said Dallas City Council has spent the last year making changes to residential housing codes to fight the city's housing shortage, thus driving the boom in new housing development.

"Previously, buildings with more than two residential housing units had to comply with the International Building Code, adding obstacles and costs for developers," the report said. "The revised code allows buildings with up to eight units to be constructed with looser regulations."

The top 10 U.S. cities building the most new homes in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Dallas
No. 2 – Houston
No. 3 – New York City
No. 4 – Phoenix
No. 5 – Atlanta
No. 6 – Los Angeles
No. 7 – Austin
No. 8 – Washington, D.C.
No. 9 – Charlotte, North Carolina
No. 10 – San Antonio

real estate housing market housing construction reports

safety matters

New Braunfels ranks No. 4 safest midsize city in Texas

City of New Braunfels/ Facebook

New Braunfels is the No. 4 safest midsize city in the state.

As the greater San Antonio area continues to grow with an influx of new residents, New Braunfels is leading the way in terms of safety and security for its residents, according to a new report.

New Braunfels has been named the No. 4 safest midsize city to live in Texas, and it ranks among the top 100 safest cities in the country, according to a new SmartAsset report.

The report, "America’s Safest Midsize Cities – 2026 Study," reviewed crime rates and natural disaster risk across 333 midsize cities with populations ranging from 65,000 to 250,000 residents. Disaster risk and auto fatality rates were evaluated on the county level.

The report's author states that no city is entirely risk-free, but some midsized cities "offer residents a stronger sense of everyday security than others." New Braunfels frequently appears on similar lists of the safest suburbs in America.

Based on the study's crime rate analysis, the city has a violent crime rate of 1.56 per 1,000 residents, there are 12.84 property crimes per 1,000 residents, and the auto fatality rate is 13.40 per 100,000 residents.

SmartAsset said New Braunfels has a "relatively moderate" natural disaster risk, which was calculated by converting Comal County's risk rating in FEMA’s National Risk Index to a five-point numeric scale. Specific natural disaster risks were not shared, but the report categorized risk levels in five levels: very low, relatively low, relatively moderate, relatively high, and very high.

The safest cities in Central Texas
Two popular Austin suburbs — Georgetown and Round Rock — lead Texas with balancing the trifecta of affordability, opportunity, and safety, SmartAsset found. Both cities are located in Williamson County, just north of Austin.

Georgetown came out on top as the No. 1 safest midsize city in Texas, and it ranked 27th in the national comparison. The city has a violent crime rate of 1.91 per 1,000 residents, and there are 8.74 auto fatalities per 100,000 residents. The city's property crime rate is a little higher, 11.7 per 1,000 residents, but it's among the lowest out of the 35 total Texas cities included in the report.

Round Rock, meanwhile, ranked as the third-safest midsize Texas city, and it ranked No. 53 nationally. This North Austin neighbor also has a slightly lower violent crime rate (1.31 per 1,000 residents) than Georgetown, but the city's property crime rate is higher: 19.41 per 1,000 residents.

Both suburbs share "relatively moderate" natural disaster risks, according to FEMA, and the same auto fatality rates.

Other Texas cities that rank among the top 100 safest midsize cities in America include:

No. 28 – College Station
No. 64 – Sugar Land
No. 75 – San Angelo
No. 83 – Bryan
No. 90 – Mission
No. 95 – Pharr

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