EDINBURG, Texas – Edinburg has been named the No. 1 under-the-radar city in Texas in a recent analysis by Orchard.
Orchard analyzed a list of Texas’ biggest cities and came up with a list of the 15 best under-the-radar cities to live in. Under-the-radar cities are cities where the quality of life is high, the home prices are relatively low, and the market for home buying isn’t as competitive as in other parts of the state — giving homebuyers more options and leverage.
Edinburg is named No. 1 on the list, thanks to its low housing costs and great public schools.
“What makes Edinburg such a great under-the-radar city? Edinburg’s housing stock is well-priced, as the median home price is just $217,433 (compared to the statewide median price of $329,452) and a price per square foot of $117 — good for 9th-lowest in Texas. Edinburg also has good public schools, with a public school rating of 3.24, compared to just 3.00 for the state.
And while some cities in Texas are seeing their available housing stock snapped up in a matter of days, the average number of days on market for homes in Edinburg is 62, which means the word isn’t out yet on the deals you can find here. Homebuyers may prefer cities with a higher DOM — it means the market is less competitive, and they’ll have more leverage.
Edinburg isn’t just a good place for housing deals — it’s a city with lots of outdoor options (including the Edinburg Scenic Wetlands), museums, and restaurants serving everything from Mexican to Mongolian.”
Methodology
Orchard is a real estate brokerage that helps simplify the process of buying and selling homes. We operate in markets throughout Texas (and around the country), and as such we have a front-row seat to the high level of activity we’re seeing in Texas at the moment.
To find cities that fit the description of under-the-radar, we created a proprietary score that combines a variety of home sale data and quality of life factors. We applied these factors to Texas’ 50 biggest cities by population.
Listed below are the factors used by Orchard to create these rankings:
- Median home price (10% of score): Data for median home prices comes from January-March 2021 home sale data. The lower the median home price, the better the city’s score.
- Median price per square foot (20% of score): Data for median price per square foot comes from January-March 2021 home sale data.The lower the price per square foot, the better the city’s score.
- Average days on market (20% of score): Data for average days on market comes from January-March 2021 home sale data. Also known as DOM, average days on market is the number of days that homes in a given market remain unsold. For home sellers, a higher DOM is typically a sign that your home will take longer to sell, but for buyers, it means the market is less competitive. Therefore, in our report, the higher the DOM, the better the city’s score.
- Public school rating (35% of score): Data for public school ratings are via Home Junction and are on a 4-point scale. We used public school rating as a quality of life factor as well as a key consideration for families. The better the school rating, the better the city’s score.
- Population growth (10% of score): Data for population growth for each city comes from the U.S. Census. The lower the population growth, the better the city’s score.
- Commute time (5% of score): Data for commute time comes from the U.S. Census and is self-reported. The lower the commute time, the better the city’s score.
Texas is an increasingly popular place to live. With home prices around the state skyrocketing — and the competition for those same homes heating up — Texas residents and newcomers alike will no doubt need to find livable, affordable cities outside of Austin and Dallas.
