DFW Housing Market Update – February 2026
Reporting Period: Feb 1–Feb 28, 2026 • Data via NTREIS
February didn't deliver fireworks — and that's not a bad thing. The DFW housing market is recalibrating after years of breakneck appreciation, and the data this month reflects a metro finding steadier footing. Inventory is up, homes are sitting longer, and buyers have recovered a measure of negotiating room they simply didn't have two or three years ago. None of that spells trouble. What it signals is a market that's maturing — one where both sides of a transaction can approach the table with clearer expectations.
Key Highlights | DFW Housing Market Update
- Median Sale Price: $385,000 (↓ 2.2% YoY)
- Closed Sales: 5,991 (↓ 6.6% YoY)
- Active Listings: 29,432 (↑ 7.3% YoY)
- Months of Inventory: 3.9 (↑ 0.3 months YoY)
- Median Days on Market: 77 (↑ 7 days YoY)
- Median Price per Sq Ft: $186.05 (↓ 3.0% YoY)
- Close-to-Original List Price: 93.8%
PRICES
The DFW median sale price landed at $385,000 in February — a 2.2% dip from the same month last year. Price per square foot fell to $186.05, down 3.0% year over year. Read in isolation, those numbers might feel like cause for concern. But the more useful lens here is composition. When more mid-range and entry-level homes close in a given month, the median naturally pulls downward — it doesn't necessarily mean the home you bought last year lost value. The $300–$399k band was the most active price range, accounting for 27.3% of closings, which tells a lot about where buyer demand is actually concentrated right now. Pricing hasn't collapsed — it's settling.
SALES ACTIVITY
Closed sales came in at 5,991 — a 6.6% decline from February 2025. That's a meaningful drop, and it's worth saying plainly: buyers are slower to commit. Higher mortgage rates, broader economic uncertainty, and the simple fact that more homes are available have all given buyers more reason to deliberate before signing. Homes are also taking longer to move — 77 days on market on average, up seven days from a year ago, with total time from listing to close stretching to 108 days. That's not stagnation, but it is a departure from the compressed timelines that defined the pandemic-era market. Sellers who priced aggressively in early 2024 are adjusting.
INVENTORY
This is the headline shift — and arguably the most consequential one for buyers. Active listings reached 29,432 in February, a 7.3% increase over the same month last year. Months of inventory ticked up to 3.9, putting DFW solidly in balanced territory — not yet a buyer's market by traditional measures, but meaningfully different from the sub-2-month frenzy of 2021 and 2022. More supply means buyers have actual choices. They can compare properties, revisit their priorities, and make decisions from a position of relative calm rather than urgent scarcity. That's a real shift in the transactional experience, even if the data doesn't scream it loudly.
MARKET BALANCE
At 3.9 months of supply, DFW is technically balanced — but the direction of travel matters as much as the number itself. Inventory is rising, pace is softening, and homes are closing at 93.8% of their original list price. That last figure is instructive: buyers aren't steamrolling sellers, and sellers still hold reasonable ground. What's changed is the negotiating dynamic — there's room for a thoughtful offer, a reasonable ask on repairs, maybe a concession on closing costs. The days of waiving everything and hoping are largely behind us, at least at the metro level. This is a more deliberate market, and for most buyers, that's a welcome change.
What Sellers Need to Know
- With 29,432 active listings in the metro, your home is competing in a more crowded field — strategic pricing from day one is no longer optional.
- Homes are averaging 77 days on market; overpricing early and reducing later costs you both time and leverage.
- Buyers are closing at 93.8% of original list price — realistic sellers are still transacting successfully, but the days of automatic above-list offers have passed.
- Condition and presentation matter more now. Buyers have choices — and they're using them.
What Buyers Need to Know
- Inventory is at its highest point in years — 29,432 active listings means you have genuine options and time to make a considered decision.
- The close-to-list ratio of 93.8% signals that measured negotiation is back. You don't have to overpay to win.
- The $300–$399k price band is the most competitive segment, with 27.3% of closings — expect more buyer activity and less room to negotiate in that range specifically.
- Mortgage rates remain the biggest variable in your monthly payment — get fully pre-approved and understand your rate sensitivity before you fall in love with a property.
2026 DFW Housing Market Forecast
If mortgage rates ease meaningfully in the second half of 2026 — even modestly — the DFW market is likely to see a resurgence of sidelined demand. A significant cohort of buyers has been waiting, pre-approved and ready, for rates to become more palatable. That pent-up energy could compress timelines and tighten inventory quickly if the rate environment shifts.
For now, the spring market will be telling. If active listings continue to climb toward or past 30,000 while closed sales remain soft, buyers will hold the upper hand through at least mid-year — a dynamic that's relatively novel for a metro that spent most of the last five years strongly favoring sellers.
Pricing pressure at the median level is likely to remain mild. Expect the DFW median to fluctuate within a narrow band — heavily influenced by which price segments are most active in a given month rather than reflecting broad value deterioration. New construction continues to offer competition in the $350–$500k range, and that supply overhang will keep appreciation muted in suburban corridors where builders are most active.
In short: DFW isn't retreating — it's recalibrating. For buyers who've been frustrated by the market's pace and price trajectory over the last few years, 2026 may offer the most accessible entry point since before the pandemic.
Source: NTREIS MLS (Feb 1–Feb 28, 2026) with February 2025 comparison metrics from the Texas REALTORS® Data Relevance Project, in partnership with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
