New Construction Under $300K in DFW: What That Money Actually Buys in 2026

Updated June 2026.

When we first published this list, $300,000 bought you a newly built single-family home inside the Dallas and Fort Worth city limits, in more neighborhoods than we could fit in one post. That's no longer the market we work in, and we'd rather tell you that in the first paragraph than let you find out three weekends into your search.

Here's the honest picture: new construction under $300K still exists in DFW, in real volume, from national builders, but the map has shifted outward. Inside Dallas proper, a recent search turned up just 49 new-construction listings under $300K, and the cheapest of those was a condo. Meanwhile, Princeton had 215 new homes under $300K, Fort Worth 203, Cleburne 102, and Royse City 83 on the same platform the same week (jome.com, June 2026). The sub-$300K new-home market didn't die. It moved to the edges.

This update walks through where it moved, city by city, with current community names, builders, and starting prices, plus a candid section on what you give up at this price point, because there's always a trade.

Prices and availability below are point-in-time from June 2026 searches and change weekly. Treat them as a map, not a menu: confirm anything that matters before you fall in love.

The 2026 Reality Check, in One Table

*One of Burleson's two results was actually located in Cleburne. Source: jome.com city searches, June 2026.

Fort Worth and Crowley: The Last Big-City Option

Fort Worth is the one major city in the metroplex where you can still buy a brand-new single-family home under $300K without leaving the city limits: 203 listings under that line in a June 2026 search, starting at $245,999 (jome.com, June 2026).

Communities delivering under $300K right now:

• Deer Creek (Lennar): from $245,999
• Orchard Village (D.R. Horton): from $249,990
• Longhorn Estates (D.R. Horton): from $279,990
• Sycamore Landing (Legend Homes): from $289,990
• Palmilla Springs (HistoryMaker Homes): from $294,990
• Highlands at Chapel Creek (D.R. Horton): from $299,990
• Mockingbird Estates (HistoryMaker Homes): townhomes from $299,990

Just south, Crowley, which made our original list and still earns its spot, has Sunnycreek (D.R. Horton) from $274,990, and we found individual Lennar homes there like a 4-bed, 1,656 sq ft house at $268,999. LGI Homes also builds in White Settlement (Vista West), west of downtown Fort Worth (jome.com and lgihomes.com, June 2026).

The fine print: at the bottom of this range you're typically looking at 3 bedrooms and roughly 1,400–1,700 square feet, and the specific pockets matter: these communities sit on the city's growth edges, not in Fairmount or Ridglea (two neighborhoods from our original list where new builds at this price are gone).

Cleburne and Joshua: The Southern Value Corridor

If your work and life lean toward the Fort Worth side, the Highway 67/Chisholm Trail Parkway corridor south through Joshua to Cleburne is where the math works best. Cleburne had 102 new homes under $300K listed in June 2026, with a floor of $219,499. Notably, the median new-construction price there was $299,900, meaning half of everything new in Cleburne is under our line (jome.com, June 2026).

• Courtland Place (National HomeCorp): from $211,990
• Villages of Mayfield (National HomeCorp): from $220,990
• Lankford Farms (D.R. Horton): from $269,990
• Burgess Meadows (Legend Homes from $272,990; HistoryMaker from $291,990)
• Baker Farms (Sandlin Homes): from $284,900
• Craftsman's Corner (Dunhill Homes): from $284,900

Between Cleburne and Burleson sits Joshua, where Lennar's Frontier community starts at $219,499. The Chisholm Trail Parkway makes the Fort Worth commute genuinely workable from here; it's a toll road, so budget for that line item.

Princeton: The Volume Leader

Nowhere in DFW has more sub-$300K new construction than Princeton, on Highway 380 east of McKinney: 215 listings under $300K in June 2026 (jome.com).

• Arbor Trails North (D.R. Horton): from $193,490
• Ashford Crossing (Centex): from $234,990
• Town Park (Pacesetter Homes): from $249,980
• Lowry Trails (Trophy Signature Homes): from $255,990
• Monticello Park (Starlight Homes): Starlight's value-brand community in Princeton

A word about those eye-catching low numbers: the cheapest homes here are compact. The $194,990 example we found was a 2-bedroom at 1,101 square feet. That's a real house at a real price; just know what the square footage is before you drive out. And go in clear-eyed about Highway 380: Princeton's growth has famously outrun its infrastructure, and the commute west toward McKinney and Plano at rush hour is the tax you pay for the price (jome.com and starlighthomes.com, June 2026).

Royse City and Greenville: The I-30 East Corridor

East of Rockwall on I-30, Royse City had 83 new homes under $300K in June 2026, starting at $242,990, though the city's overall new-construction median is now $351,990, so the sub-$300K segment is the entry tier, not the middle (jome.com, June 2026).

• Wildwood (D.R. Horton): from $242,990
• Creekshaw (Impression Homes): from $255,999
• Verandah (Lennar from $257,999; M/I Homes from $267,990)
• Liberty Crossing (D.R. Horton): from $262,990
• Waterscape (HistoryMaker Homes): from $283,990

Push another 20 minutes up I-30 to Greenville and the floor drops further: 53 homes under $300K, with Jackson's Run (Lennar) from $222,999 and Delano Estates (LGI Homes) from $257,900. Starlight Homes also builds in Josephine (Liberty Ranch) and Forney (Windmill Farms) along this side of the metro, though note that Forney's overall new-construction median has climbed past $415K, so sub-$300K options there are the exception (jome.com and starlighthomes.com, June 2026).

Anna: Still Possible, but the Window Is Closing

Anna used to be the easy answer for cheap new construction on the Highway 75 corridor. In June 2026 it had 36 new homes under $300K: real options, but against a citywide new-construction median of $401,765 (jome.com, June 2026). Translation: the builders' cheapest floor plans still squeeze under the line, but Anna as a whole has moved upmarket.

• Coyote Meadows (Starlight Homes): from $239,000
• Churchill (Impression Homes from $260,990; DRB Homes from $269,990; Beazer Homes from $289,990)
• The Woods at Lindsey Place (D.R. Horton): from $288,990
• The Villages of Hurricane Creek (First Texas Homes): from $299,950

Where $300K No Longer Works (and What to Do Instead)

We'd be doing you a disservice if we only listed the wins. Several corridors that buyers still associate with "cheap new construction" have moved past $300K:

• Rhome / Highway 287 north. A June 2026 search found zero new homes under $300K in Rhome. Entry there is now about $322,990 at Reunion (UnionMain Homes), with D.R. Horton's Bluestem starting around $348,990. The nearest under-$300K alternative on that corridor is Bridgeport, where D.R. Horton has homes at $283,990–$297,990. We know this corridor firsthand: we recently listed a home in Rhome at $625,000 (Nail & Key), which tells you how wide that market's range has gotten.
• Burleson. Just two sub-$300K new-construction results in June 2026, and one of them was actually in Cleburne. Burleson is now an established-market price point: our own recent Burleson listing, a 2,665 sq ft resale in Mistletoe Hill, was priced at $380,000 (Nail & Key). If you love the Burleson area, Joshua and Crowley are your under-$300K moves.
• Dallas proper. 49 listings under $300K, concentrated in southern Dallas neighborhoods, with a handful of standouts: College Park (LGI Homes) from $291,900, Ellington Woods (Lennar) from $278,999, and Middlefield Village (Century Communities) from $299,900. These exist, but inventory is thin and street-by-street research matters even more here than it did when we first wrote this post (jome.com, June 2026).

If your budget can stretch to $350K instead of $300K, the map widens considerably: Royse City's median tier, Rhome's entry tier, and the entry tiers of Forney and Anna come into play. Sometimes the right answer is a slightly different number, and that's a conversation worth having before you commit to a corridor.

What You Trade at This Price: The Honest Section

Every one of these homes is a real house from a real builder. But $300K is the entry tier of the 2026 DFW new-home market, and entry tier means trade-offs:

• Distance. The common thread in this list is 30–45+ miles from the urban cores. Drive your actual commute at the actual hour before you write a contract. Highway 380 through Princeton and I-30 through Royse City carry every one of those new rooftops.
• Size at the floor. The lowest advertised prices are usually the smallest floor plans: the cheapest home we found in Princeton was 1,101 square feet. The "from" price and the price of the home you'd actually pick are often $20K–$40K apart once you're standing in the model.
• Special taxing districts. Many fast-growth communities on the metro's edges sit in MUDs or PIDs, special districts that fund the new roads and water lines and show up on your tax bill for years. Ask for the full tax rate with all districts included, in writing, for the specific lot. (And see our breakdown of how DFW property tax rates compare, then consult your tax professional on your specific situation.)
• Builder-grade finishes and young infrastructure. Laminate counters, vinyl plank, smaller lots, and schools and roads that are catching up to the population. None of this is a dealbreaker; all of it should be priced into your expectations.
• Resale time horizon. In communities where the builder is still building, your future resale competes with the builder's brand-new inventory and incentives. These are buy-and-stay-awhile homes, not quick-flip homes.

A Note on Builder Incentives and Rate Buydowns

Most of the builders on this list actively advertise incentives: closing-cost assistance, design credits, and especially mortgage rate buydowns through their affiliated lenders. These can genuinely change your monthly payment, and in a slower market they're often negotiable on top of the list price.

Two cautions. First, the advertised buydown usually requires using the builder's lender: compare the full deal (rate, fees, price, credits) against an outside lender before assuming it's a win. Second, incentives change monthly and are never guaranteed, so don't budget around one you haven't locked. We can't promise you any particular rate or incentive, nobody honestly can, but we can help you pressure-test the offer in front of you.

How to Actually Shop This Market

The builder's on-site agent is friendly, knowledgeable, and works for the builder. Bringing your own agent usually costs you nothing, since the builder typically pays the buyer's agent's commission, and it means someone at the table is reading the incentive sheet, the special-district disclosures, and the contract for you. If you're new to this, start with the 10 questions to ask before choosing a buyer's agent.

We've helped 440+ families buy and sell across DFW, and we work these corridors ourselves, including recent listings in Burleson and Rhome, so when we tell you what a fair price looks like in Cleburne or Princeton, it's coming from the field, not a search portal.

If you're trying to figure out where your budget actually lands in 2026, under $300K or with a little stretch, reach out for a buyer consult or call us at (972) 916-9646. We'll tell you the real number, even when it's not the fun one.

Prices, inventory, and community availability above are point-in-time figures from June 2026 searches (primarily jome.com) and change weekly; treat them as a map, not a menu, and confirm current pricing, square footage, and the full tax-rate stack (including any MUD or PID) for a specific home before you act. This is general information, not financial or tax advice.