- The fastest growing city in Texas is a small place outside of Dallas called Josephine, according to census data.
- Josephine has just under 7,000 residents and thousands of new homes are being built.
- According to local residents, some people are moving to buy new housing, which is relatively affordable.
In 2022, Cassidy Moore and her husband were looking for their first home together.
Moore, a 31-year-old former nanny who grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of McKinney, Texas, said she has no intention of buying a home in Dallas itself. The cost of living will be higher.
“Being in that environment is stressful,” Moore told Business Insider. “We decided to go anywhere, but we considered price and affordability. We just wanted to come in and have a foot somewhere.”
In the small city of Josephine, a 45-minute drive northeast of Dallas, the couple found what they were looking for. It was a quiet neighborhood with affordable housing that, in Moore's words, was a “fresh start.”
In September 2022, the couple purchased a new 1,600-square-foot home in Josephine for $289,000. Moore said she couldn't afford such a home in Dallas, where “you can't find anything under $400,000.”
According to Redfin, the median home sales price in Josephine in January was $355,000. Dallas was at $386,500.
In 2021-2022, Texas will 670,000 new residents, ranking second only to Florida, according to Census Bureau data. Historically, large cities like Dallas and Texas san antoniohas become a popular destination for migrants from within and outside the state, with abundant housing and employment opportunities attracting migrants.
But when you look at city and town population totals from 2020 to mid-2022, smaller cities like Josephine and New Braunfels, between Austin and San Antonio, steal the spotlight. They are experiencing robust population growth, while their larger counterparts have seen minimal population growth or, in some cases, a complete decline.
According to census data, Josephine is the fastest growing city in Texas. Between 2020 and 2022, the city's population increased dramatically by 225.86%, from 2,131 to 6,944. Compare Dallas, whose population decreased by 0.37% during this period, and Austin, whose population increased by only 1.30%.
Josephine is attracting movers because of its relatively inexpensive housing, low taxes and proximity to Dallas while maintaining a quiet, communal atmosphere, according to recent homebuyers, local real estate agents and city officials. That's what it means.
Josephine's population growth is due to the housing boom
After spending several months visiting several open houses for homes in cities large and small that make up the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, also known as DFW, Moore and her husband stumbled across Rural Josephine.
“We fired up Google Maps and my husband was like, 'Where should we go next?' Little Josephine showed up and he was like, 'What the hell is Josephine? Go see it.' Let’s do it,” she said.
Surrounded by vast farmland and intersected by dirt roads and two-lane roads, Josephine is a quiet town. Population is less than 7,000 people. But in recent years, its profile has increased significantly as DR Houghton, the nation's largest publicly traded home builder, has built developments with hundreds of homes throughout the region.
Dr. Horton's developments include Magnolia, where Moore purchased his home, as well as the Waverly Estates and Riverfield communities. Robbie Hale, a well-known home builder in the Dallas area, added a neighborhood he named High Meadow Estates.
The Magnolia community will initially include about 1,600 homes, with prices ranging from $249,990 to $324,000, according to Josephine's official website. On the other hand, high he meadow states home prices start at he $400,000.
Dr. Horton did not respond to requests for comment, but he is building or planning to build countless developments across the country in Sunbelt states. florida, georgiaand arizona.
Many of the developments planned in Texas are located on the outskirts of major cities. Copperas Cove110 miles north of Austin, barnet90 miles north of San Antonio.
Low housing prices in cities are attractive to buyers
Bonnie Hunt, co-owner and real estate agent texan team real estatetold BI that “Josephine is exploding in popularity” due to its low cost of living and proximity to Dallas as well as McKinney and Plano.
“Josephine offers lower tax rates and more affordable housing prices,” Hunt said. “Most homes in Josephine are priced at $300,000 by far. You can't find new construction at that price in McKinney or Dallas.”
Hunt said many of her clients, like Moore, are millennial first-time homebuyers who chose the city to restart their lives.
“This new generation wants a brand new home, and they don't want to live on someone else's property,” she says, adding that her clients also “want to live within hours of Dallas.” I think so,” he added. Enjoy the nightlife or drive into town for work.
Josephine may experience growing pains
Moore told BI she was concerned about whether the road would be able to accommodate the influx of new residents as Josephine grows.
“There are a lot of houses being built. There's more apartment building being built, not just in Josephine itself, but also in the surrounding area, so there's more traffic on these little roads,” she said. “It’s gotten to the point where they are.” planning road expansion, it is very necessary. ”
Josephine City Administrator Lisa Palomba told BI that the town needs to strengthen its services and public safety departments to meet the needs of a growing population.
“We have to build the infrastructure to increase water and wastewater service capacity,” Palomba said, adding that the city needs to expand its police and fire departments, especially given that they are staffed by volunteers. He added that there is.
Moore said that while she enjoyed living in Josephine (which helped her become a homeowner in the first place), she and her husband would consider moving to another city in the future. .
“Josephine lacks convenience, with a 20-minute drive to the nearest grocery store and 30 to 40 minutes for other purchases,” she says. “We'll probably move towards McKinney and then Sherman within the next year or two.”
