housing boom

Houston booms as No. 2 market for new home construction in the U.S.

New residential construction home framing against a blue sky

Houston has the second-highest concentration of new home development in the nation.

Getty Images

Houston's real estate market is getting hotter and hotter: A new housing report from ConsumerAffairs has revealed Houston is home to the second-highest concentration of new home development in the nation. Over 9,000 new residential building permits were issued citywide in the first two months of 2026 alone.

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, and 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.

The report found 9,239 new building permits were issued and 3,535 new construction homes were sold across January and February in Houston. Only New York City and Dallas have issued more permits than Houston, but the city still holds the top spot for the highest number of new-build homes sold during the two-month stretch.

The Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro additionally ranks No. 2 for new home construction in a separate ranking across the biggest U.S. metros. Nearly 66,000 new residential units — single-family homes, apartments, and condos — were authorized in the greater Houston area in 2024.

Dallas overtakes Houston for 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

Bang for Buck

Surprising suburb unlocks biggest apartments in Houston for $1,500

Photo by Matt Halls on Unsplash

Pasadena has the 6th roomiest apartments on a budget in Texas.

Budget-conscious renters searching for the roomiest apartments in the region should look no further than Pasadena. According to a new study, the east Houston suburb has the biggest apartments on a budget in the metro.

In 2026, Pasadena residents can rent a 1,125-square-foot apartment for $1,500 per month. That's enough space for a two- or three-bedroom unit, and it's four square feet bigger than what renters could get with the same budget last year.

RentCafe's annual report analyzes the places where renters can find the largest apartment sizes across 200 of the most populous U.S. cities for a monthly budget of $1,500. The price per square foot was calculated using the average apartment rent and size per city based on "multifamily properties" containing 50 or more units.

Pasadena offers the 6th most spacious apartments in Texas for $1,500, and Houston ranks 11th statewide.

Renters in Houston proper will net a 976-square-foot apartment for the same price in 2026, a size that has shrunk by more than 20 square feet since 2023.

Apartment sizes across Texas
For the second year in a row, the Rio Grande Valley is the region that has the most spacious apartments for a $1,500 monthly budget, RentCafe found.

McAllen leads the nation with the biggest apartment size – at 1,378 square feet – which is large enough for a three- or four-bedroom unit.

"With rents averaging just $993 and the typical apartment measuring 912 square feet, McAllen renters get a lot more space for their money than most Americans do within that monthly budget," the report said. "Still, that figure is down slightly from last year’s 1,393 square feet — a sign that even the most affordable markets are starting to tighten."

Brownsville, another city on the border located an hour east of McAllen, ranks fourth statewide with apartments spanning 1,213 square feet for the same budget.

These are the top 10 Texas cities that offer the biggest apartments for $1,500 in 2026:

No. 1 – McAllen (1,378 square feet)
No. 2 – Amarillo (1,237 square feet)
No. 3 – Lubbock (1,217 square feet)
No. 4 – Brownsville (1,213 square feet)
No. 5 – El Paso (1,128 square feet)
No. 6 – Pasadena (1,125 square feet)
No. 7 – Corpus Christi (1,115 square feet)
No. 8 – Killeen (1,058 square feet)
No. 9 – San Antonio (1,023 square feet)
No. 10 – Mesquite (988 square feet)

real estate apartments housing rentcafe study houston pasadena