Preston Hollow has no single cost of living. Its median house cost about 7.6 times its median condo in the 90 days ending September 30, 2026. Both markets currently favor buyers, with houses closing at roughly 3.7% below list price with 5.4 months of supply, and condos sitting 80 days with 10 months of supply.

The real budget question is which housing type you can carry, not whether you can afford the neighborhood. Texas has no state personal income tax, and city sales tax applies evenly across the region, meaning housing is where Preston Hollow differs from the rest of Dallas. Check our housing market trends page to compare a cash offer before reviewing the decision questions below.

Key Takeaway

In Preston Hollow, your cost of living comes down to whether you buy a condo or a house. The gap between the two is wide. If you want an address here on a modest budget, start with the condo market, where listings pile up and buyers can negotiate. If you need a detached house, plan for jumbo financing and expect to offer below asking there too.

Who This Guide Is For

You’re working out whether a Preston Hollow address fits your monthly budget and need to know whether a condo or a house is the realistic way in.

Preston Hollow Housing Costs at a Glance

Property types with fewer than 10 sales are omitted from the data.

All homes: median sale price $1,981,945, down 0.9% year over year (65 sales, 90 days ending 2026-09-30)
All homes: median $475 per sq ft; 52 median days on market; 96% sale-to-list; 10.9% sold above list (90 days ending 2026-09-30)
All homes: 142 active listings, 6.7 months of supply (90 days ending 2026-09-30)
Single-family: median sale price $2,399,601, down 1.9% year over year (47 sales, 90 days ending 2026-09-30)
Single-family: median $544 per sq ft; 51 median days on market; 96.3% sale-to-list; 13% sold above list (90 days ending 2026-09-30)
Single-family: 82 active listings, 5.4 months of supply (90 days ending 2026-09-30)
Condo: median sale price $316,500, up 11.1% year over year (based on only 18 condo sales, 90 days ending 2026-09-30; treat with caution)
Condo: median $253 per sq ft; 80 median days on market; 95.5% sale-to-list; 5.5% sold above list (based on 18 condo sales, 90 days ending 2026-09-30)
Condo: 60 active listings, 10 months of supply (90 days ending 2026-09-30)

Condo or House: The Two Price Points in Preston Hollow

The Preston Hollow market splits sharply between two property types. You’re choosing between a cheaper square foot in a shared building and land with a detached house at many times the price.

Each path carries its own monthly obligations beyond the mortgage, and how these two segments behave is worth understanding before you set a budget and start touring.

Preston Hollow Condos

The condo market is the neighborhood’s way in, and right now it’s oversupplied. At the current sales pace it would take about 10 months to sell every condo listed in Preston Hollow. Buyers can take their time and compare units.

Condos stretch a budget furthest, selling for a median $253 per square foot based on 18 condo sales in the 90 days ending September 30, 2026. That translates directly to more space per dollar.

The tradeoff is that those square-foot savings come with monthly HOA dues and shared-building risk. Dues and reserves vary by building, so ask each HOA for its current dues, budget, and reserve study. If you plan to use FHA financing, check the building’s FHA approval on HUD’s condo lookup. Our HOA fees page explains how dues are typically structured.

Preston Hollow Single-Family Homes

A detached house gives you your own lot, but a square foot of house here costs more than twice a square foot of condo. The median single-family home sold for $544 per square foot in the 90 days ending September 30, 2026. You’re paying for the land as well as the structure. Our moving to Preston Hollow page has more on what that distinction means day to day.

Single-family median sale prices are down 1.9% year over year across 47 sales, so you’re not chasing a rising market. There’s breathing room to evaluate a property’s condition.

What you give up is low carrying costs. Property tax is assessed on value, so a house here costs far more each month than the purchase-price gap alone suggests. Review our property taxes page for local rate details.

How Much Income Do You Need to Live in Preston Hollow?

To answer the salary question, it helps to look at the typical carrying costs for both a condo and a house. The worked examples below use a standard down payment and a 30-year fixed rate.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.24% as of October 29, 2026. These calculations hold housing costs to roughly 28% of gross income, a common lender guideline. They’re for illustration only. Get a lender pre-approval to confirm your actual buying power.

Buying a Median-Priced Condo: An Example

The median condo sale price was $316,500, based on only 18 condo sales in the 90 days ending September 30, 2026. For illustration only: a standard 20% down payment requires $63,300, leaving a loan of $253,200. A loan on the median Preston Hollow condo fits under the federal conforming loan limit, so it can use standard financing.

At that rate, monthly principal and interest run about $1,723. You’ll still need to add your specific HOA dues and property taxes to find the real monthly payment. Under the lender guideline, a buyer would need a gross household income around $74,000, plus enough to cover those dues and taxes.

HOA dues sit on top of the mortgage and can change. An underfunded building can levy a special assessment at any time. That monthly figure stays incomplete until you have the HOA’s current dues and reserve study in hand.

Buying a Median-Priced House: An Example

The single-family median sale price was $2,399,601 across 47 sales in the 90 days ending September 30, 2026. For illustration only: a standard 20% down payment requires about $479,920, leaving a loan of roughly $1,919,681. The down payment alone on a median Preston Hollow house is larger than the price of the median condo.

At that rate, monthly principal and interest on that loan sit near $13,060, before property taxes and homeowners insurance. Keeping that base payment at the same 28% guideline requires earning roughly $560,000 a year, and that’s before factoring in your tax and insurance escrows.

A loan this size is a jumbo loan, well above the conforming limit. Jumbo lenders set their own down-payment, credit, and cash-reserve rules. Ask lenders for their jumbo requirements before you set a price ceiling.

Everyday Costs in Preston Hollow

Housing dominates the budget, but daily expenses run close to Dallas metro norms. You’ll pay the same rates for electricity, water, and groceries as residents in neighboring areas.

Texas has a specific tax structure that shifts how residents spend their paychecks. These non-housing categories help you estimate total monthly cash flow.

Utilities

Electricity in Dallas is a deregulated market, so you pick a retail plan based on the state average residential rate. The City of Dallas handles water and wastewater, with tiered residential water usage rates starting at $2.17 per 1,000 gallons up to 4,000 gallons. The monthly residential wastewater usage charge is $6.19 per 1,000 gallons of average winter water consumption.

The City of Dallas residential sanitation fee is $40.09 per month before tax. Rates are the same across Dallas, so a bigger house or a pool is what raises your bill.

Rates don’t tell you what a specific house costs to run. Ask the seller for 12 months of electric and water bills, especially for large homes, pools, and irrigated lots.

Groceries, Transportation and Health Care

Households in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area spent an average of $81,954 per year in 2023-24. Transportation accounted for 18.6% of the Dallas-area household budget, with 93.8% of that going to private vehicles. Food represented 11.8% of the budget, and personal insurance and pensions accounted for 14.0%.

Public transit is available, with a DART Local Monthly Pass costing $126.

These are averages for the whole Dallas-Fort Worth metro, not Preston Hollow measurements. Most daily trips here are by car, so budget for your own commute rather than the metro average.

Sales Tax and Income Tax

Texas has no state personal income tax, which means your paycheck goes further than in income-tax states. The combined sales tax rate in the City of Dallas is 8.25% for 2026, comprising the 6.25% state rate plus the local rate.

The flip side is that without an income tax, local governments depend on property tax. On a Preston Hollow home, that bill is a major line in the budget. Check our property taxes page for a breakdown of exemptions.

How Much Room Is There to Negotiate in Preston Hollow?

Both the condo and single-family markets currently lean toward buyers, which gives you room to ask for a lower price, seller concessions, or repairs. How much room depends entirely on the property type and how long it’s been listed. Read our housing market trends page for a wider view of local inventory.

Negotiating on a House

Preston Hollow houses have been selling at about 3.7% under asking. In the 90 days ending September 30, 2026, single-family homes closed at 96.3% of list. On a $2,000,000 list price, that’s roughly $74,000 of room to negotiate.

A minority still sold above list: 13% of single-family homes cleared their asking price. Well-priced houses can still draw competition.

That figure is a median across very different houses. A renovated or well-priced home may get no discount at all, so judge each listing against recent sales on its own street, not against the neighborhood median.

Negotiating on a Condo

The typical Preston Hollow condo sat on the market for about 80 days before selling, giving buyers time to ask for price reductions or concessions. A unit that’s been listed for months is a reason to negotiate on price or repairs.

The condo median sale price did rise 11.1% year over year (based on 18 condo sales). On only 18 sales, though, this likely reflects which units happened to sell, not a market where sellers hold the cards.

With so few sales, the condo figures can swing sharply from one quarter to the next. Building, floor plan, and HOA health move a unit’s value more than the neighborhood trend, so price each unit against sales in its own building.

Other Costs to Check Before You Buy

The purchase price and mortgage rate only cover part of your initial and ongoing expenses. Several localized costs are worth verifying during your option period.

If you’re weighing tuition or school costs, use the Dallas ISD school-finder to confirm attendance zones for a specific address. Our schools in Preston Hollow page has district details.

Homeowners Insurance and Flood Risk

The Texas Department of Insurance reports a statewide average annual homeowners premium of $3,291 based on 2024 filing data. Premiums scale with replacement cost, so large houses carry much larger premiums.

Standard policies exclude flood coverage. Look up the address on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center and get an insurance quote on the specific house during your option period, before you commit.

Buyer Closing Costs

Closing costs are a one-time cash need on top of the down payment. Lender fees, title, and prepaid items vary by loan, and the reliable number comes from the lender’s Loan Estimate.

Prepaid property tax and insurance escrows scale with the home’s value, so closing cash on a house runs far higher than on a condo. Request Loan Estimates from more than one lender to see actual closing costs and escrow amounts side by side.

How to Decide Between a Condo and a House in Preston Hollow

The choice between a condo and a house comes down to four questions. First, do you need a detached house with its own lot, or would a condo do? If a condo works, read the “Preston Hollow condos” section and the condo worked example. If not, go to “Preston Hollow single-family homes.”

Second, will your loan stay under the conforming limit, or will you need a jumbo loan? The two worked examples under “How much income do you need to live in Preston Hollow?” show where each housing type lands. Third, how much can you spend each month beyond the mortgage? Check “Everyday costs in Preston Hollow” and “Other costs to check before you buy” before you settle on a price.

Fourth, are you ready to buy now, or would renting first make sense? The negotiation section shows how much room you’d have today, and the rent FAQ covers the renting option.

If you want to own in Preston Hollow on a budget under about $400,000, start with the condo market. That median is the only price point in the neighborhood within reach of standard conforming financing. If you want the most square footage for your money, condos sold for a median per-square-foot rate well below the single-family figure. If you want the most room to negotiate price or concessions, look at condos that have been listed for a while: they sat a median 80 days and carry 10 months of supply. If you want a detached house and can finance a jumbo loan, start with single-family homes and offer below asking. Prices are down year over year and houses have closed below list. We can help you compare specific listings. Review our pros and cons of living in Preston Hollow page for non-cost factors.

Preston Hollow Cost of Living FAQs

Is Preston Hollow a Wealthy Area?

The all-homes median sale price in Preston Hollow was $1,981,945 in the 90 days ending September 30, 2026. Across all property types, homes sold for a median $475 per square foot. That overall median blends estates and condos, so check the condo and house sections above for the split.

Is Preston Hollow a Nice Area in Dallas?

This depends entirely on what you’re paying for in a property. Read our pros and cons of living in Preston Hollow page and our living in Preston Hollow guide for a breakdown of the neighborhood. Our things to do in Preston Hollow page covers local parks and amenities.

Is $80,000 a Good Salary to Live in Preston Hollow?

The MIT Living Wage Calculator sets the baseline for Dallas County, but at an $80,000 income, the condo market is the realistic way to own property here. Review the condo worked example above for a breakdown of monthly costs, or consider renting as an alternative. Get a lender pre-approval to see exactly what you can afford.

Is Preston Hollow Safe?

Read our Preston Hollow safety page, which uses official data to track local incidents. You should also look up a specific address on the Dallas Police Department’s open data portal and compare incident counts over the same period.

How Much Is Rent in Preston Hollow?

HUD’s Small Area Fair Market Rents for the Preston Hollow ZIP codes (75225, 75229, 75230) provide the baseline for 2026. These figures represent HUD’s fair market rent by bedroom count, not active asking rents. Compare current listings for the unit size you need, and check our Preston Hollow ZIP codes page for boundaries.

Is Preston Hollow Its Own City?

No, Preston Hollow is a neighborhood located in the City of Dallas. City records confirm it was the Town of Preston Hollow before voting to merge into Dallas, with annexation becoming effective in 1945. City of Dallas rates apply for water, sanitation, and the city portion of your bill, which you can review on our property taxes page.

What County Is Preston Hollow In?

Preston Hollow is located in Dallas County, Texas. The Dallas Central Appraisal District sets the appraised values that property tax bills are based on. Look up any address on the DCAD website, and read our where is Preston Hollow page for a map.

How Far Is Preston Hollow from Downtown Dallas?

The driving distance to downtown Dallas depends on whether you take the Dallas North Tollway or US-75. Commuting is mostly by car, and any toll-road use adds directly to your monthly budget. See our getting around Preston Hollow page for specific commute times and transit options.

Cost of Living in Preston Hollow, Dallas, TX: Condo vs. House Budgets for 2026