Fort Worth TX Real Estate Market 2026: Score 58, Trending Up While Dallas Slips

Fort Worth TX scores 58 out of 100 on the PropertyIQ index as of February 28, 2026.

That score is based on Tarrant County data, the county that contains Fort Worth and its surrounding suburbs. The score has risen 9 points in the past three months, moving from 49 in August 2025 to 58 in February 2026. The trend is up.

The Dallas-Fort Worth metro as a whole scores 31 out of 100 for the same period. That 27-point gap between the metro score and the Tarrant County score reflects something that headlines about DFW often miss: Fort Worth and Dallas are sharing a metro label but operating as meaningfully different real estate markets.

Fort Worth TX Real Estate Market vs the DFW Metro

The DFW metro score of 31 is pulled lower by Dallas County, where prices are higher, overvaluation is more severe, and the correction is more pronounced. Tarrant County, where Fort Worth sits, has a different supply-demand profile.

Tarrant County's active inventory stands at 4,807 homes as of February 1, 2026. Year-over-year, that inventory grew just 0.38%. In markets across the Sun Belt, inventory has grown 10%, 15%, even 30% year-over-year. Fort Worth's supply picture is comparatively stable.

Home values in Tarrant County are up 1.39% year-over-year as of February 1, 2026, with a month-over-month gain of 0.53%. The broader DFW metro has seen negative year-over-year appreciation. Fort Worth is not just outperforming Dallas: it is showing positive price movement while most of Texas trends sideways or lower.

The median home value in Tarrant County is $320,110 (Zillow, February 28, 2026). The median listing price from Realtor.com is $359,900 as of February 1, 2026. Price per square foot is $189.

Why Fort Worth Scores 58

The PropertyIQ Score synthesizes supply, demand, economic, and valuation data into a single 0-to-100 monthly score. A score of 50 represents the Texas state average. At 58, Fort Worth is above the state baseline, indicating that current conditions favor buyers and sellers more than the average Texas market.

Three factors drive the 58:

1. Affordability is closer to realistic.

The income required to purchase a median-priced home in Tarrant County is $95,660. The local median household income is $81,905. That income gap, where buyers need to earn 17% more than the local median to afford the median home, is tight by 2026 standards. For context, Scottsdale, AZ has a gap of 55%. Nashville, TN has a gap exceeding 50%. Fort Worth is one of the few large Texas markets where a dual-income household earning close to local median can realistically qualify for median-priced housing.

The affordable home price at local income levels is $308,150. The actual median is $320,110. The spread is $12,000. That is not nothing, but it is far smaller than the six-figure gaps common in coastal and high-growth Sun Belt markets.

2. Supply is not running away from demand.

The pending ratio in Tarrant County is 0.46 as of February 1, 2026. For every 100 homes listed, 46 are under contract. Markets in distress typically see this figure fall below 0.35. A balanced market sits near 0.70. At 0.46, Fort Worth is below balanced but not in free-fall.

New listings are up 9.84% year-over-year, but active inventory is nearly flat at +0.38%. The new supply is being absorbed. Home sales are up 3.9% year-over-year. These are not strong numbers, but they indicate a market where transaction activity is recovering, not collapsing.

3. The score trend is positive.

Tarrant County's 12-month score history:

• February 2026: 58
• January 2026: 58
• December 2025: 48
• November 2025: 48
• October 2025: 46
• September 2025: 46
• August 2025: 49
• July 2025: 50
• June 2025: 47
• May 2025: 54
• April 2025: 58
• March 2025: 57
• February 2025: 57

The score bottomed out around 46-47 in September and October 2025, then climbed steadily through the winter. The current 58 matches the spring 2025 peak. The +9 point trend over three months is the strongest positive momentum among major Texas markets in this dataset.

Market Activity Data

Key metrics as of February 1, 2026 (Realtor.com, unless noted):

• Active listings: 4,807
• Inventory YoY: +0.38%
• New listings: 2,322
• New listings YoY: +9.84%
• Pending listings: 2,214
• Pending ratio: 0.46
• Days on market: 55
• Price cuts: 21.1% of listings
• Price increases: 0.93% of listings
• Home sales YoY: +3.9%
• Median home value: $320,110 (Zillow, February 28, 2026)
• Rent index: $1,571/month (Zillow, February 28, 2026)
• Price per sq ft: $189

The 21.1% price-cut rate is the one area of concern. Just over 1 in 5 listings has already reduced its asking price, signaling that sellers in some segments overshot on pricing. However, 21.1% is meaningfully lower than the 28.2% seen in the Phoenix-Scottsdale metro and the 30%+ figures in markets like Jacksonville and Charlotte.

The Fort Worth Character: Not Dallas

Fort Worth has a distinct identity within the DFW metroplex. It is the seat of Tarrant County and sits on the western edge of the metro, often described as the place where the urban core gives way to the plains. Culturally, economically, and in terms of real estate profile, Fort Worth operates differently from Dallas.

Dallas has concentrated its economic growth in financial services, consulting, and corporate headquarters. Fort Worth has a stronger base in aerospace, defense, manufacturing, and logistics. American Airlines is headquartered in Fort Worth. Lockheed Martin has a significant Fort Worth presence. The economic base is more industrial, more export-oriented, and historically more stable through economic cycles.

That economic grounding contributes to Fort Worth's affordability. When economic growth is driven by corporate relocations and financial services, property values tend to rise faster than wages. When growth is anchored in manufacturing and defense, the income and home value relationship stays tighter.

The population of Tarrant County is 2,135,743 as of the 2023 Census. Median age is 35.1 years. The unemployment rate is 3.6% as of December 2025. These are the fundamentals of a working, employed county where housing demand is real rather than speculative.

Fort Worth for Investors

The gross yield for Tarrant County is 5.24% as of February 28, 2026. The cap rate is 3.14%. The rent-to-price ratio is 0.44%.

At a $320,000 purchase price, financed at 7%, a conventional 20% down loan carries a monthly payment near $1,706 before insurance and taxes. The rent index of $1,571 per month indicates that at that price point, cash flow is negative on a leveraged basis. The gross yield of 5.24% at today's rates does not produce break-even cash flow for most leveraged buyers.

For cash-flow investors, the math works better in the lower price segments. Sub-$250,000 properties in Fort Worth's core neighborhoods have a better chance of approaching cash-flow neutrality. For long-term appreciation plays, the +1.39% YoY combined with a recovering score trend and tight supply growth presents a more favorable case.

Building permits in Tarrant County totaled 889 in January 2026, down 7.49% year-over-year. Of those, 507 were single-family and 359 were multifamily. Slowing permit activity typically signals that builders are pulling back, which constrains future supply and supports prices over a 12-to-18-month horizon.

Fort Worth vs Other Texas Markets

Fort Worth (Tarrant County) at 58 is the standout performer among Texas metros. San Antonio scores in the low 30s. Dallas County and the DFW metro are at 31. Austin is significantly lower. Houston is well below 50.

Texas as a state has faced broad inventory accumulation and affordability compression since 2022. Fort Worth is the exception: a market where prices remained more grounded, oversupply did not materialize, and the score trend is moving in the right direction.

Compare Fort Worth's 58 to Dallas-Fort Worth metro at 31: the gap illustrates how much Dallas County is dragging the metro average. Compare it to San Antonio, TX to see another affordable Texas city navigating the same cycle differently.

PropertyIQ score as of February 28, 2026, based on Tarrant County (FIPS 48439) data. Listing and inventory data as of February 1, 2026 (Realtor.com). Home value and rent data from Zillow as of February 28, 2026. Economic data as of December 2025. Census data as of 2023. All data for informational purposes only and should not be the sole basis for investment decisions.