Housing affordability in Texas has contributed to a massive influx of new residents in recent years, and that affordability is slipping away. 

Homes in Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio and Houston have become increasingly unaffordable in relation to residents’ incomes over the past decade, rivaling the costliness of metros like New York and Chicago, the Dallas Morning News reported, citing National Association of Realtors and U.S. Census Bureau data.

To determine housing affordability ratios, median home prices in the second quarter were divided by the previous year’s median household income. The result: Houston and San Antonio matched DFW’s affordability ratio, while Austin was deemed slightly less affordable. 

While Texas still offers numerous advantages, this shift in affordability could deter newcomers to the Lone Star State. 

Homes in DFW are still considerably more affordable than cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, but the region’s median home prices have more than doubled in the past decade, even as incomes increased by 45 percent. Interest rate hikes in the latter half of 2022 pushed home prices down slightly, but not enough to offset significant gains that occurred in the initial years of the pandemic.

As a result, some prospective homebuyers are exploring more affordable options in Midwestern cities, where median household incomes are comparable to those in Dallas-Fort Worth but home prices are lower. The median sale price of existing homes in DFW was about $390,000 in spring 2023, roughly $27,000 more than the median price in Chicago, the outlet reported.

The post-pandemic housing boom further exacerbated the shortage of affordable homes in North Texas, making it increasingly difficult for younger buyers to find starter homes. The number of homes selling for less than $200,000 has plummeted since 2019, forcing many to reconsider their home search or look for options in other regions.

Real estate agents in the area have reported clients exploring out-of-state alternatives, such as Colorado and other Texas cities, in search of more cost-friendly housing options. These market changes are challenging the long-held perception that Texas is significantly more affordable than the rest of the country.

—Quinn Donoghue 

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Gold bullion, exotic cards, weapons, a $2 million robbery: these aren’t plot points for a forthcoming James Bond movie, but events and allegations around New Jersey developer Fred Daibes.

Daibes, a successful builder known for luxury residential real estate, is a key figure in the bribery charges facing New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez. The developer — one of five facing federal charges in the case — has pleaded not guilty. 

A federal indictment in 2018 accused Daibes of scheming to defraud a bank that he had founded. Prosecutors accused Daibes of giving Menendez and his wife bribes for help in the fraud case by installing a lax U.S. attorney. 

Those bribes include cash-stuffed envelopes with Daibes’ fingerprints and nine bars of gold bullion tracked to Daibes which were seized during a search of Menendez’s home, prosecutors said.

As Menendez’s case faces trial, the developer credited as the “chief architect of Edgewater’s rebirth” has been pulled into the spotlight, adding to a turbulent track record dotted with controversy and detailed in a profile by the New York Times. 

Daibes lived in a Palestinian refugee camp for the first 10 years of his life before relocating to New Jersey. After dropping out of college to support his younger siblings in the wake of his father’s death, he built his career as a luxury developer and a reputation as a local fixture: a 2018 spread in a local magazine featured his exotic car collection, including a red 1957 Jaguar XK140 and a silver 2005 Bentley Continental GT with a turbocharged W-12 engine.

The wealth that brought regional fame also brought bad actors. In 2013, four people broke into his penthouse, tied a bag over his head and beat him, breaking his ribs and dislocating his shoulder before making off with $2 million in cash, gold and jewelry. The group was eventually arrested and sentenced to serve 12 to 18 years in prison; one proved to be a confidant and neighbor of Daibes.

Menendez didn’t successfully intervene in Daibes’ 2018 case, according to prosecutors. Daibes ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of making false entries in connection with a $1.8 million loan and wasn’t set to face prison time. Last week, a judge tossed Daibes’ plea agreement in that case.

As for the latest indictment, Daibes is accused of providing financial backing to an Egyptian-American businessman who later won a lucrative contract for the sole rights to certify products imported to Egypt complied with Islamic law; the business operates out of a building in Edgewater owned by Daibes.

Menendez proceeded to use his role in the Senate to direct aid and weapons to Egypt, according to prosecutors.

Daibes Enterprises rose to prominence in Edgewater after building thousands of housing units, office spaces and retail complexes. That activity hasn’t been without its share of controversy, such as when Daibes was accused alongside officials of trying to block a development at 615 River Road on the Gold Coast.

State investigators also found Daibes provided free or discounted rent to local officials and awarded a contract to a councilperson’s company in exchange for favorable treatment in business dealings.

— Holden Walter-Warner

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