Housing Market 2024: Avoid Buying a Home in These 25 Texas Cities

Not all Texas housing markets are created equal. While there are many parts of Texas where buyers can find their dream homes and mortgage rates, home values may decline over time in other areas. 

How do you know which areas to steer clear of purchasing a home in? To determine the Texas cities where you should avoid buying a home, GOBankingRates reviewed the January 2023 and January 2024 average single-family home value for every Texas city as well as the average single-family home value for Texas and the United States. The year-over-year change was then calculated using these home values in various Texas cities, the state of Texas and the U.S. The livability index was also factored in as cities with livability under 70 represent the areas with the poorest quality of life.

In descending order, with the No. 1 city offering the poorest quality of life, see which 25 Texas cities you should avoid purchasing a home in.

• January 2023 average home value: $390,776
• January 2024 average home value: $357,933
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -9.176%
• Difference from USA average home value: $13,981
• Livability score: 63

• January 2023 average home value: $400,914
• January 2024 average home value: $371,851
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -7.816%
• Difference from USA average home value: $27,900
• Livability score: 60

• January 2023 average home value: $538,398
• January 2024 average home value: $506,794
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -6.236%
• Difference from USA average home value: $162,842
• Livability score: 69

• January 2023 average home value: $433,135
• January 2024 average home value: $407,397
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -6.318%
• Difference from USA average home value: $63,445
• Livability score: 59

• January 2023 average home value: $396,870
• January 2024 average home value: $370,690
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -7.062%
• Difference from USA average home value: $26,738
• Livability score: 57

• January 2023 average home value: $449,523
• January 2024 average home value: $429,496
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -4.663%
• Difference from USA average home value: $85,545
• Livability score: 56

• January 2023 average home value: $614,645
• January 2024 average home value: $605,247
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -1.553%
• Difference from USA average home value: $261,295
• Livability score: 57

• January 2023 average home value: $483,616
• January 2024 average home value: $442,229
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -9.359%
• Difference from USA average home value: $98,278
• Livability score: 68

• January 2023 average home value: $646,409
• January 2024 average home value: $629,753
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -2.645%
• Difference from USA average home value: $285,801
• Livability score: 62

• January 2023 average home value: $435,120
• January 2024 average home value: $428,660
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -1.507%
• Difference from USA average home value: $84,708
• Livability score: 42

• January 2023 average home value: $763,202
• January 2024 average home value: $748,111
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -2.017%
• Difference from USA average home value: $404,160
• Livability score: 65

• January 2023 average home value: $578,536
• January 2024 average home value: $540,420
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -7.053%
• Difference from USA average home value: $196,468
• Livability score: 66

• January 2023 average home value: $454,495
• January 2024 average home value: $427,490
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -6.317%
• Difference from USA average home value: $83,538
• Livability score: 52

• January 2023 average home value: $499,192
• January 2024 average home value: $466,171
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -7.084%
• Difference from USA average home value: $122,219
• Livability score: 58

• January 2023 average home value: $434,425
• January 2024 average home value: $384,246
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -13.059%
• Difference from USA average home value: $40,294
• Livability score: 63

• January 2023 average home value: $740,561
• January 2024 average home value: $729,967
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -1.451%
• Difference from USA average home value: $386,016
• Livability score: 56

• January 2023 average home value: $838,401
• January 2024 average home value: $817,937
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -2.502%
• Difference from USA average home value: $473,985
• Livability score: 65

• January 2023 average home value: $719,705
• January 2024 average home value: $681,808
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -5.558%
• Difference from USA average home value: $337,856
• Livability score: 68

• January 2023 average home value: $558,060
• January 2024 average home value: $503,307
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -10.879%
• Difference from USA average home value: $159,356
• Livability score: 67

• January 2023 average home value: $836,364
• January 2024 average home value: $803,319
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -4.114%
• Difference from USA average home value: $459,367
• Livability score: 64

• January 2023 average home value: $957,744
• January 2024 average home value: $907,686
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -5.515%
• Difference from USA average home value: $563,735
• Livability score: 66

• January 2023 average home value: $1,188,546
• January 2024 average home value: $1,161,900
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -2.293%
• Difference from USA average home value: $817,948
• Livability score: 61

• January 2023 average home value: $976,110
• January 2024 average home value: $926,039
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -5.407%
• Difference from USA average home value: $582,088
• Livability score: 61

• January 2023 average home value: $1,035,378
• January 2024 average home value: $972,538
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -6.461%
• Difference from USA average home value: $628,586
• Livability score: 57

• January 2023 average home value: $1,379,756
• January 2024 average home value: $1,299,012
• YOY (%) change in average home value: -6.216%
• Difference from USA average home value: $955,060
• Livability score: 65

Photo disclaimer: Photos are for illustrative purposes only. In many cases, the closest major city outside of the city/county mentioned it the article was used.

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed housing markets across cities in Texas to find the places you should avoid buying. GOBankingRates started by using the Zillow Home Value Index to find the [1] January 2023 average single-family home value for every city in Texas, [2] January 2024 average single-family home value for every city in Texas, [3] overall Texas state January 2024 average single-family home value, and the [4] overall USA national January 2024 average single-family home value all sourced from Zillow Home Value Index for Single Family Homes. Using the home values from each city, the year-over-year change in USD and percentage can be calculated, as well as the differences from the Texas average and national average. To qualify for this study, the year-over-year change in home value had to be negative, the home value had to be inflated over the state average, and the home value had to be inflated over the national average. For each city left on the list, the livability index was sourced and all the cities with a livability below 70 were kept as they represent the places with the poorest quality of life. The year-over-year change in home value was scored and weighted at 1.50x, the difference from the Texas state average was scored and weighted at 0.75x, the difference from USA national average was scored and weighted at 0.75x, and the livability index was scored and weighted at 0.75x. All the scores were summed and sorted to show the 2024 housing markets to avoid buying a home in Texas. All data was collected on and is up to date as of May 21, 2024.