All of Texas’ Major Metropolitan Areas Saw Significant Property Value Increases

O'Connor discusses how property values have soared across Texas in 2026.

HOUSTON, TX, UNITED STATES, May 8, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ --


While Texas has a reputation as a low-tax state, that is not necessarily true, especially when it comes to property taxes. Texas was recently ranked as having the ninth-highest property taxes in the nation. Those numbers could see a significant boost in 2026, as property values across Texas continue to skyrocket due to demand. Property values act as the basis for taxes, and any spikes in the overall value usually lead to higher taxes.

We have done a series of blogs showing how values have increased across all of Texas’ major counties. While some saw modest growth, most saw increases well above inflation. Businesses, in particular, saw massive increases across the board. In this article, we will cover each of the major metro areas in Texas and summarize just what the findings revealed.

The Houston Area

Harris County is the largest county in Texas, and Houston and its many suburbs is one of the nation’s top economic areas. Besides Harris, there are Fort Bend, Montgomery, Brazoria, and Galveston counties. These combine to be both a bastion of industry and home to millions of people. Despite their varied nature, each of these counties experienced increases in both residential and commercial values.

Harris County

Home to Houston, the titanic county saw truly epic increases. Residential value surged 4.5%, which translated into an increase of $18.23 billion. While homes of all sizes experienced gains in their value, the spikes grew as the overall worth of homes increased. Homes worth under $250,000 saw their value edge up 0.6%, while homes worth over $1.5 million saw it spike 11.3%. Meanwhile, commercial properties soared by 6.7%, which resulted in a total increase of $10.10 billion. This was mainly thanks to apartments, the largest type of commercial real estate in the county, which jumped 7.9% to total $65.64 billion.

Fort Bend County

The longtime premier suburb of Houston, Fort Bend, has traditionally had some of the highest property taxes in the state. Like Harris, Fort Bend County residential real estate climbed by 4.5%, resulting in a spike of $5.51 billion. This drove the total value of homes in the county to $127.39 billion. All types of homes saw strong increases, with more expensive homes seeing larger jumps. Commercial property has been skyrocketing in value in Fort Bend, despite its reputation as mainly a suburban area. Businesses added 15.4% to their value in 2026, which meant an overall increase of $2.89 billion.

Montgomery County

One of the main recipients of people fleeing Harris County is Montgomery, one of Texas’ rising counties. The overall value of homes in the county boomed by 5.9%, which translated into a total increase of $5.56 billion. Despite its reputation for large homes in places like The Woodlands and Conroe, the majority of residential real estate value came from small or modest homes. All homes in the county combined for a total value of $99.08 billion. Like Harris, Montgomery County businesses added 6.7% to their overall value, which represented a jump of $1.5 billion.

The DFW Area

Made up of Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, and Denton counties, to name a few, the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex has seen fantastic growth over the past decade. While the surging value in Dallas and Tarrant counties is expected, it was the suburbs that truly saw explosive growth. Both Denton and Collin counties have become elite suburban communities, with massive increases in new construction to accommodate a growing population. The metroplex has emerged as one of America’s top economic centers.

Dallas County

Residential real estate in Big D saw a strong spike of 4% in value in 2026 alone. This meant an increase of around $11.43 billion. Homes worth between $200,000 and $500,000 saw rather sedate increases, between 0.5% and 1.4%. Larger homes generally saw bigger increases, with homes worth over $1.5 million surging 8.7% to achieve a new total of $76.37 billion. These elite homes now represent the second-highest portion of the total in the county, a rarity in Texas. Dallas’ already massive commercial real estate experienced a large spike of 15.7%, which drove the overall total from $137.82 billion to $159.51 billion. Like most urban areas in Texas, the largest source of value was apartments, which added 19.6% to their value, totaling $81.79 billion.

Tarrant County

While it sometimes lives in the shadow of Dallas, Tarrant County is the second-largest county in Texas. Residential property has grown more slowly in Tarrant than in the other counties in the area, and 2026 was no different. Residential value climbed 1.6%, taking the total from $211.24 billion to $214.56 billion. Commercial property was a different story, and the Fort Worth area saw businesses skyrocket 17.4%. In 2025, businesses saw a surge of over 25%, so there has been a sea change in value over the past two years. The 2026 increase resulted in a jump of $14.45 billion. Apartments increased by 23.8% in value alone, resulting in a final total of $45.33 billion.

Denton County

Denton is one of the hottest suburbs in America and has seen its property values triple in the past decade. 2026 was one of the few years where the value growth was somewhat restrained, only increasing by 2.1%. In fact, the largest category of homes, those worth between $250,000 and $500,000, saw a tiny reduction in value of 0.1%. All other home categories saw increases, however, with homes worth over $1.5 million surging 13.3%. Overall, the total value of housing jumped from $153.96 billion to $158.05 billion. Business real estate surged 25.4%, going from $35.33 billion to $44.30 billion. This was mainly thanks to an increase of 20.7% for apartments, which totaled $19.99 billion.

Collin County

Collin County mirrors Denton in many ways, including seeing its values triple in the past decade. Like Denton, Collin homeowners got something of a break in 2026, with the overall value only climbing by 1.8%. This still saw the overall total move from $193.44 billion to $196.84 billion. The two largest categories of homes, those worth between $250,000 and $500,000, and those worth between $500,000 and $750,000, saw only marginal growth, which constrained the overall total. The remaining categories all saw significant increases, most notably homes worth over $1.5 million, which jumped by 11.2%. Businesses added 13.8% in 2026, with most coming from apartments. Overall, the value of business real estate added $8.08 billion.

The Austin Area

As the new tech hub of America, Travis, Hays, and Williamson counties have all exploded in value in the past decade. While Austin is in Travis, the other counties have been bolstered by a large-scale migration to the area, with people looking to work in the entertainment, tech, and other industries. Being a new Silicon Valley has led to some of the highest tax increases in the entire state, with Travis County quickly becoming unaffordable for many longtime residents. This has led to the area using the highest percentage of property tax protests in the state, with Travis alone seeing over one-third of all properties protested annually.

Travis County

Home values across Travis County surged 3.6%, which resulted in a new total of $216.64 billion. Homes worth between $250,000 and $500,000 were the No. 1 category of homes until they saw a drop of 1.8%. The top spot was then taken over by homes worth over $1.5 million, which surged 12.4% to reach a final sum of $57.77 billion. This represents a significant shift in how home values are distributed across the Austin area and demonstrates just how out-of-control values are getting. This was not necessarily the result of new construction, but was thanks to formerly modest homes seeing their value rise so high that they changed categories. Commercial property saw a spike of 9.9%, going from $142.01 billion to $156.03 billion. This was thanks to apartments, which totaled $57.87 billion, and offices that reached $44.90 billion following increases of 6.4% and 9.8%, respectively.

Hays County

Thanks to the meteoric rise of the Austin area, Hays County has seen its overall property values nearly quintuple in the past decade. With this historic trend in mind, the increase of 3.1% for homes is somewhat sedate. The value of homes from $150,000 to $500,000 retreated slightly, though they were the only category to do so. Every other category increased by at least 3%, with those worth over $1.5 million soaring by 11.7%. Overall, the total residential value of the county moved from $42.88 billion to $44.14 billion. Commercial property, on the other hand, saw explosive growth, with a general increase of 21.5%. Raw land alone saw its value increase by 27.2%, resulting in a total of $7.26 billion. Warehouses were the No. 1 built business type, increasing 18.6% to $1.23 billion.

Williamson County

In a true rarity for any Texas metro area, Williamson County saw a reduction in its housing values, falling 2%. This was thanks to homes worth between $250,000 and $500,000 dropping by 3.6%, while those worth between $500,000 and $750,000 fell by 0.8%. This resulted in the overall figure shrinking from $104.49 billion to $102.39 billion. Even larger homes only saw tiny gains. Commercial property was still in the black, however, adding 7.2% to go from $33.73 billion to $36.14 billion. Apartments were easily the No. 1 business real estate type, improving 6.2% to $13.85 billion. Retail, warehouses, and hotels all saw gains of over 16%.

San Antonio

Bexar County also experienced a small decline in residential values. This was thanks to a 2.7% decline for homes worth under $250,000, which is the second-largest category in the county. The largest category, homes worth between $250,000 and $500,000, barely increased by 0.1%. Only homes worth over $1.5 million saw a large increase, with a jump of 6.5%. In total, all residential real estate in Bexar County totaled $187.05 billion. Businesses added 4.2%, reaching a final tally of $54.38 billion. This was mostly thanks to spikes in the value of apartments, retail, and offices.

El Paso

The largest county outside of the Texas Triangle, El Paso, saw a surge in home values. Growing 3.9%, the overall total for homes reached $58.58 billion. The two largest types of homes were those worth under $250,000 and those worth between $250,000 and $500,000. These grew by 1.9% and 4.8%, respectively. Other home categories saw larger increases, but these were only a small portion of the overall total. Commercial property surged 17.5%, with the total growing to $11.91 billion. This was thanks to a massive increase of 33.3% for apartments, the largest business type.

Implications and Final Thoughts

Generally, the increases in modest homes were more sedate than they were in 2025, but 2026 saw expensive homes quickly fill the gap. While this was the result of some luxury homes being built, much of this shift was due to an overall surge in property values. For instance, in Travis County, though homes worth over $1.5 million were in the No. 1 spot, the majority of value came from homes measuring between 2,000 and 3,999 square feet, hardly palatial estates. Many existing homes across the state are seeing themselves promoted to new brackets due to demand. This puts undue stress on older homeowners, as the value of their homes and their property taxes go up.

Appeals and Exemptions Fight Rising Values

While tax rates cannot be lowered, property values can. This is achieved through exemptions and property tax protests. Since tax rates are applied to property values, reducing them leads to lower taxable burdens. There have been significant improvements to exemptions in the past year. The homestead exemption was increased from $100,000 to $140,000, while the exemption for people over 65 increased from $10,000 to $60,000. These can even be combined for a value reduction of $200,000. Businesses got an enhanced business personal property exemption of $125,000. These can be built upon with property tax appeals, which challenge the values placed on properties by appraisal districts. These appeals cut hundreds of billions of dollars in value from the tax rolls of Texans each year. The deadline for most Texas counties to appeal is May 15, 2026.

About O'Connor:
O’Connor is one of the largest property tax consulting firms, representing 185,000 clients in 49 states and Canada, handling about 295,000 protests in 2024, with residential property tax reduction services in Texas, Illinois, Georgia, and New York. O’Connor’s possesses the resources and market expertise in the areas of property tax, cost segregation, commercial and residential real estate appraisals. The firm was founded in 1974 and employs a team of 1,000 worldwide. O’Connor’s core focus is enriching the lives of property owners through cost effective tax reduction.

Property owners interested in assistance appealing their assessment can enroll in O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program ™. There is no upfront fee, or any fee unless we reduce your property taxes, and easy online enrollment only takes 2 to 3 minutes.

Patrick O'Connor, President
O'Connor
+1 713-375-4128
email us here
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