This is part of the Report\u2019s special 1 Million & Counting growth series, which will be published on Mondays into October. The reporting will lead to a growth summit Oct. 23 at the downtown Tarrant County College Trinity River Campus.<\/p>\n The growth has spurred citywide developments that are dense with apartments, multifamily construction and new subdivisions<\/a> cropping up in the city\u2019s urban core and on its outskirts.\u00a0<\/p>\n But as Fort Worth attracts new visitors and investors, demand outpaces housing supply, Realtors say. And in the face of rising construction costs and inflation, average home sale prices have risen about 190% since 2010, according to estimates from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department.\u00a0<\/p>\n Residents of Northside, sandwiched between the booming Stockyards<\/a> and promising Panther Island<\/a>, face rising property taxes and pressure from investors to sell their homes. Many have fixed incomes and fear they will eventually be forced to move, said Rosalinda Escobar Martinez<\/a>, who was a member of parent-teacher associations in the area over the 2010s.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we first moved into the neighborhood, houses were less than $50,000, and now some are like $300,000,\u201d said Martinez, who moved into the neighborhood more than 20 years ago.<\/p>\n Between 2017 and 2025, Fort Worth\u2019s population grew by 16% \u2014 faster than Texas\u2019 average of about 12.5%, census estimates report. In that same amount of time, the city\u2019s average single-family home value rose from $188,536 to $305,476, according to the Tarrant Appraisal District.<\/p>\n Average rental costs have also increased, doubling from $700 in 2010 to $1,455 in the Fort Worth-Arlington area, according to Housing and Urban Development reports<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The more people move into the city, the higher demand for houses and property values rise, said Becky Gligo, executive director of Fort Worth Community Land Trust<\/a>, which works to help would-be buyers afford houses<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSome people have access and income to sustain the change. But the ones that don\u2019t, it\u2019s very hard to see,\u201d said Arturo Martinez, Rosalinda\u2019s husband, whose family has lived in Northside for six decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n How have home values changed since 2020?<\/p>\n Average value of Fort Worth single-family homes:<\/p>\n In 2020: $209,084<\/p>\n In 2025: $305,476\u00a0<\/p>\n This has led to an about $1,100 increase in the average homeowner\u2019s property tax bills, which now average about $6,600 annually, according to calculations by the Report that factored in taxing entities\u2019 changing rates.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s high housing costs and the nation\u2019s higher interest rates <\/strong>are preventing prospective homebuyers from purchasing and discouraging current homeowners from selling, said Donna VanNess, president of Housing Channel<\/a>, a nonprofit advocating for sustainable homeownership.<\/p>\n Housing costs spiked locally after the COVID-19 pandemic, VanNess noted. Around that time, corporations and equity firms began buying massive swaths of neighborhoods to rent out homes or rebuild. By 2024, the city found that corporations owned 26% of Fort Worth homes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rising prices inside the 820 Loop<\/p>\n Two decades ago, Fort Worth had a relatively affordable housing market, recalled Fernando Costa, a former longtime assistant city manager<\/a>. That made Fort Worth competitive as an attractive place for workers to live and businesses to grow.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the city has struggled to keep prices low, Costa said.<\/p>\n In 2023, City Council adopted a housing affordability strategy<\/a>, laying out initiatives to encourage and assist prospective homebuyers with expanded assistance programs and more affordable housing development.\u00a0<\/p>\n The report found that a median-income family in Fort Worth, making about $75,000, could not afford a median-priced home and identified neighborhoods at risk of displacement.<\/p>\n The strategy emphasized affordability concerns in Fort Worth\u2019s historic neighborhoods, including Northside.\u00a0<\/p>\n Potential gentrification of the neighborhood has been the subject of national studies<\/a> due to the anticipation of future Stockyards<\/a>-area and Panther Island development<\/a>, Costa said.\u00a0<\/p>\n While these projects include new entertainment, hotel and business spaces, some residents fear they also could drive out businesses and families who have occupied the neighborhood for generations.<\/p>\n What is gentrification?<\/p>\n Gentrification is the process in which previously disinvested, low-value areas attract real estate investment and a demographic shift, with higher-income residents moving in and increasing property values. This often results in an increase in property values and the displacement of earlier, usually poorer residents, according to the Urban Land Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n A 2024 study conducted by the Urban Land Institute recommended various actions<\/a> to help prevent gentrification. Among them was creating a state-recognized Northside cultural district<\/a>, like the one covering Near Southside\u2019s Magnolia and South Main villages<\/a>. Development of \u201cmissing middle\u201d housing in the form of duplexes, triplexes, townhouses and small apartment buildings is also recommended.<\/p>\n The study suggested a community action committee that advocates for neighborhood improvements, like the newly formed Historic Northside District<\/a>, which is affiliated with Main Street America<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The district advocates for preservation of the neighborhood\u2019s arts and Hispanic culture. It\u2019s headed by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce but is seeking independence.<\/p>\n The Martinez family is deeply connected to their community. Over the 2010s, Arturo sat on Fort Worth\u2019s Human Relations Commission and the Art Commission for a combined eight years. He\u2019s watched city officials continue to make decisions about the Stockyards\u2019 future.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut how inclusive is it to neighborhoods?\u201d Martinez said. \u201cWhat are their benefits to the restaurants and barber shops and local things that bring the culture that they seek and look for?\u201d<\/p>\n Other historic neighborhoods such as Historic Southside<\/a> and Lake Como<\/a> \u2014 both predominantly Black communities \u2014 face similar gentrification concerns as residents there are in conversation about preservation investments<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fort Worth City Council member Carlos Flores, a lifelong resident of the Northside area he now represents, acknowledges that the neighborhood faces some potential gentrification. But that\u2019s not the primary cause of rising housing prices, he said.<\/p>\n Northside sits along the West Fork of the Trinity River, between Interstate 35 and Texas 199. The area is naturally attractive to developers for its relatively low-cost properties and connection to downtown, Flores said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Because of this, investors often buy old houses, flip them and resell for a higher price.<\/p>\n \u201cThe real estate and construction markets are responding to a need,\u201d Flores said. \u201cPeople want newer homes, and they\u2019re going to be looking for them, and they want them in centralized areas.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n On the other side of downtown, neighborhoods in Near Southside saw a similar transformation. The homes now run for significantly more than the city\u2019s average home sale price, with an average price of around $430,000, according to the Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Fairmount, a nationally registered historic neighborhood, oak-lined streets outline Craftsman bungalows and four-square homes with white picket fences and Victorian awnings.\u00a0<\/p>\n The area, formed in the early 1900s<\/a>, saw its growth driven by the streetcar transit<\/a> connecting it to downtown. It evolved as a predominantly white middle-class neighborhood with a few large houses strewn about, and is historically wealthier than Northside, which grew as the nearby Stockyards demanded workers for its meatpacking industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n While multiple factors contribute to Fairmount\u2019s higher price tag, a central one was the city\u2019s intentional efforts over the 1980s and 2000s to encourage business development in Near Southside and to provide tax incentives to restore historic homes, Costa said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat effort was a resounding success,\u201d Costa said. \u201cHowever one chooses to view it, it had the effect of raising housing prices dramatically in Fairmount. Whereas 30 years ago, housing was highly affordable, today it\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Housing prices fueled by growth, expansion<\/p>\n Fort Worth\u2019s housing market is nearly healthy from a Realtor\u2019s perspective, said Paul Epperley, president of the local Realtors association. But demand still outpaces supply, even as houses are built.<\/p>\n Fort Worth added about 36,000 new single-family houses since 2020, according to the appraisal district. Most of these have expanded the city\u2019s borders well beyond the 820 Loop.<\/p>\n In the far north, once sprawling ranchland is now parceled into new subdivisions, such as those around Bonds Ranch<\/a> and Alliance<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since Russell Fuller bought his home near Keller\u2019s border 20 years ago, his house\u2019s worth has doubled. Fuller is president of North Fort Worth Alliance<\/a>, a group of 47 communities and neighborhood associations.<\/p>\n The new houses up north are mostly home to dual-income families, many of whom moved in from out of state, Fuller said. They\u2019re often attracted to the area\u2019s new houses and schools<\/a>, which academically outperform those in Fort Worth ISD<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fuller said longtime residents aren\u2019t moving, which drives up prices, too. Homeowners like him, who bought houses decades ago and might be ready to downsize, aren\u2019t finding options that meet their needs and price range in or around Fort Worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n If they did move, they\u2019d face considerably higher interest rates, likely 3 or 4 percentage points higher than what they\u2019ve secured, notes Epperley, of the local Realtors group.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no place for us to move to,\u201d Fuller said. \u201cTherefore, there\u2019s nobody to vacate the lower-priced houses for new people.\u201d<\/p>\n Solutions require \u2018more tools in our toolbox\u2019<\/p>\n No one solution will make homes more affordable, said Gligo of the Community Land Trust.\u00a0<\/p>\n City officials could offer some tax relief that would allow homeowners to leave the property to their heirs, she said. Home incentives, such as the one seen in Fairmount, could allow longtime residents to tackle expensive needed repairs that sometimes make selling to a developer the better option.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe more folks we have coming to the table, and the more tools in our toolbox, the better,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Curbing housing\u2019s rising cost was a priority for state lawmakers heading into the 2025 legislative session. New Texas laws limit how major cities can regulate housing developments<\/a>, as well as make it easier to build smaller houses on smaller lots<\/a> and convert old buildings along retail corridors into apartments and mixed-use developments<\/a>.<\/p>\n In November\u2019s election, Texas voters will weigh several<\/a> propositions that increase the homestead exemption<\/a> and create new tax breaks for homeowners.\u00a0<\/p>\n Housing affordability concerns also show up at meetings in City Hall, where council members are floating the idea of including a $5 million housing proposition in an expected bond proposal<\/a> next year that would go to affordable housing projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fort Worth is the largest city in Texas that has not included a housing proposition in a bond. In 2024, Dallas voters approved that city\u2019s first bond propositions specifically dedicated to housing efforts<\/a>, including $26.4 million to fund affordable housing construction and neighborhood revitalization.<\/p>\n Another strategy, favored by Fuller, is to freeze property taxes for homeowners in specific areas at risk of gentrification. For instance, if a Northside resident bought their house for $150,000 a decade ago, they could continue paying taxes on that price as long as they live there, no matter the appraised value.<\/p>\n Flores noted the city has taken many steps to help homeowners, including the continuous reduction of tax rates.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n He pointed to Fort Worth\u2019s restrictions on short-term rentals<\/a> and home Priority Repair Program<\/a> as initiatives that help. The city also has a program<\/a> that covers up to $25,000 in down payment and closing costs for eligible first-time homebuyers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, developers are adding to Fort Worth\u2019s affordable housing supply with townhomes<\/a>, cottages<\/a>, apartments<\/a> and other efforts.<\/p>\n In the nonprofit sector, Gligo\u2019s Community Land Trust<\/a> buys property, renovates the houses if needed, then sells them to a qualified family making up to 120% of the area\u2019s median income. The family owns the home, but the trust owns the land and gets first choice to buy back the house when the family decides to move.<\/p>\n Since the trust keeps ownership of the land, the homes stay attainable when the original owners sell.\u00a0<\/p>\n VanNess said a big part of affordable housing is education. Housing Channel educates prospective homebuyers on how to budget, seek and negotiate for a house they can afford. She encourages neighborhoods to be more receptive to dense and affordable housing projects<\/a>, such as duplexes and apartments.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Northside residents opposed a plan to renovate the century-old Primera Baptist Church<\/a> into apartments.<\/p>\n Multifamily proposals like this typically receive opposition from neighborhood residents who fear such developments will bring crime, traffic and overcrowding of schools, Costa said. Most of the time these issues don\u2019t arise, but the prospect worries neighbors, housing officials say.<\/p>\n Affordable housing \u201cis not a threat to the communities,\u201d VanNess said. \u201cWe\u2019re still doing home ownership. We\u2019re just offering different products that make it affordable for working families.\u201d<\/p>\n Arturo and Rosalinda Martinez have hope for Northside, even as the hotels and new chain restaurants open down their street.\u00a0<\/p>\n As they wait in the busy traffic now outside their driveway, the couple dreams of the city connecting Northside with downtown by adding more direct bus lines. They\u2019ve long advocated for building sidewalks through the neighborhood to make it more walkable.<\/p>\n \u201cI am excited because, hey, now I have a Starbucks and a Chick-fil-A a block from my house, I could walk \u2014 if I had sidewalks,\u201d Rosalinda Martinez said.<\/p>\n Flores is optimistic that the development around Northside will bring opportunities for residents and local businesses.<\/p>\n \u201cI really do believe that the Northside will benefit from it,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the same time, we\u2019re trying to lay the groundwork right now, so that before that development really starts taking off, we offer ways that we can help alleviate some of these effects.\u201d<\/p>\n Drew Shaw is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org<\/a> or @shawlings601<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760319795_253_OneMillionandCounting@3x.png\")
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Arturo and Rosalinda Escobar Martinez pose for a photo in front of their house in Fort Worth\u2019s Northside on Oct. 9, 2025. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1001-MMHousing-03-1-1.jpg\")
A pile of rubble sits near a new development in Fort Worth\u2019s Northside on Oct. 1, 2025. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0731-TRVAMeeting-08-.jpg\")
Carlos Flores speaks during the Trinity River Vision Authority board meeting in Fort Worth July 31, 2025. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_3977.jpeg\")
About 2,500 people live in Fairmount, a National Historic District in Near Southside. (Drew Shaw | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760319798_221_Goss-BondRanchRoad-02.jpg\")
Houses sit next to undeveloped land June 20, 2025, off West Bonds Ranch Road in Fort Worth. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1009-MMHousing-07-.jpg\")
Ramble & Rose, overlooking West Rosedale Street is one of the properties where Fort Worth Housing Solutions provides affordable housing opportunities. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n
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