Analytics built by: Location, Inc.
Raw data sources: American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Methodology: NeighborhoodScout uses over 600 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile… Read more about Scout's Real Estate Data
With a population of 127,385, 46,030 total housing units (homes and apartments), and a median house value of $214,693, house prices in Abilene are solidly below the national average.
Single-family detached homes are the single most common housing type in Abilene, accounting for 68.32% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Abilene include large apartment complexes or high rise apartments ( 17.07%), duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 8.49%), and a few row houses and other attached homes ( 3.07%).
The most prevalent building size and type in Abilene are three and four bedroom dwellings, chiefly found in single-family detached homes. The city has a mixture of owners and renters, with 48.61% owning and 51.39% renting.
At the end of World War II, American soldiers returned home triumphant and, with the help of the GI Bill, built homes by the millions on the edges of America's cities. These homes were predominantly capes and ranches, modest in size, but built to house a growing middle-class as the 20th century became the American century. Abilene's housing was primarily built during this period, from the '40s through the '60s. A full 38.79% of the city's housing hails from this era. Other housing ages represented in Abilene include homes built between 1970-1999 ( 37.57%) and housing constructed between 2000 and later ( 17.08%). There's also some housing in Abilene built before 1939 ( 6.55%).
Vacant housing appears to be an issue in Abilene. Fully 11.62% of the housing stock is classified as vacant. Left unchecked, vacant Abilene homes and apartments can be a drag on the real estate market, holding Abilene real estate prices below levels they could achieve if vacant housing was absorbed into the market and became occupied. Housing vacancy rates are a useful measure to consider, along with other things, if you are a home buyer or a real estate investor.
Real estate appreciation rates in Abilene's have tracked to near the national average over the last then years, with the annual appreciation rate averaging 6.10% during the period.
Appreciation rates are so strong in Abilene that despite a nationwide downturn in the housing market, Abilene real estate has continued to appreciate in value faster than most communities. Looking at just the latest twelve months, Abilene appreciation rates continue to be some of the highest in America, at 9.66%, which is higher than appreciation rates in 94.23% of the cities and towns in the nation. Based on the last twelve months, short-term real estate investors have found good fortune in Abilene. Abilene appreciation rates in the latest quarter were at 6.03%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of 26.39%.
Importantly, NeighborhoodScout’s exclusive research found that Abilene's housing market shows one of the <a href="/blog/highest-appreciating-cities">top real estate appreciation rates in the U.S.A.</a> in the latest quarter, which may signal the city’s near-future real estate investment strength.
Relative to Texas, our data show that Abilene's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 90% of the other cities and towns in Texas.
One very important thing to keep in mind is that these are average appreciation rates for the city. Individual neighborhoods within Abilene differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Abilene - or in any city or town - that have the best track record of real estate appreciation, by the latest quarter, the last year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or even since 2000, to assist you in making the best Abilene real estate investment or home purchase decisions.
$214,693
for Texas
for nation
46,030
$1,544 / per month