- Appraisal district
- Wise County Appraisal District, Decatur
- Cities and communities
- Decatur, Bridgeport, Rhome, Boyd, Paradise, Runaway Bay, Alvord, Newark, Chico, New Fairview, Aurora, Sunset
- Corridor
- US 287 runs southeast to Fort Worth and the Alliance corridor; the southern towns commute, the northern ones largely do not
- New construction
- 40.2% of closings built 2023 or later — the highest share of any county in this research
- Groundwater
- Wells in much of the county fall under the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District
- Property types I appraise
- One-to-four unit residential and residential land only
What the Wise County market actually did, 2023–2026
Measured from 7,421 Wise County listings on 5,024 addresses — every residential listing in the MLS over three years, whether it sold or not.
- Wise is the hardest market in this research. 26.4% of houses never sold — worse than Parker, Hood or Johnson.
- And it is the only one where prices fell. Median $369,900, then $371,000, then $355,000.
- 40.2% of closings were built in 2023 or later — the most new construction of any county here. Resale sellers are competing with builders who can buy down a rate.
- Above $750,000, half the houses never sold. 49.3%.
- Above twenty acres, 57.6% never sold — the worst figure anywhere in five counties.
- The south of the county is a different market. Rhome 13.8% and New Fairview 14.7%, against Chico 41.3% and Paradise 35.3%.
| 12 months ending | Sold | Listings that failed | Rate | Median price | $/sqft | CDOM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 | 1,229 | 811 | 39.8% | $369,900 | $190 | 67 |
| October 2025 | 1,293 | 956 | 42.5% | $371,000 | $190 | 74 |
| October 2026 | 1,301 | 983 | 43.0% | $355,000 | $187 | 74 |
Volume crept up 6% while the median fell $15,000 and the failure rate rose every year. Of the five counties measured for this research, Wise is the only one where sellers ended the period worse off on both price and probability.
Two ways to count a failure
6,573 listings reached an outcome and 2,750 ended without a sale — 41.8%. Those listings sat on 5,024 distinct addresses, 22.9% of which were listed more than once.
| Measure | Failed | Of | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings that ended without a sale | 2,750 | 6,573 listings | 41.8% |
| Houses that never sold at all | 1,324 | 5,024 addresses | 26.4% |
963 of the failed listings — 35% — were at an address that sold under a different listing. That is the lowest rescue rate of the larger counties: when a Wise County listing fails, it is more likely to stay failed.
Both numbers are reported throughout, because they do not always rank places the same way.
The most new construction, and the weakest resale market
40.2% of Wise County closings were built in 2023 or later. That is the highest share of any county in this research — higher than Johnson at 39.8%, Parker at 36.1%, Hood at 30.0% and far above Erath at 12.6%.
It shows up in the subdivisions. Reunion had 3.1% of its houses never sell across 227 addresses; Hillcrest Meadows North 1.6%; Fairview Meadows 7.1%; Whispering Winds 9.7%. Those are builder-led communities and they clear almost completely.
Everything else absorbs the consequence. A resale seller in Decatur or Bridgeport is competing against new product a few miles away, carried by a builder who can buy down a buyer’s rate, cover closing costs or hold price while discounting in ways that never appear in the recorded sale price. The county-wide median fell while new construction kept building.
A new-build closing is not a clean comparable for a 2006 resale two miles away, even at identical square footage, because the recorded price may conceal several per cent of incentive. In a county where two closings in five are new construction, that is not an edge case. It is most of the comparable set.
Two Wise Counties
| City | Addresses | Listings that failed | Houses that never sold | Median sold | CDOM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhome | 760 | 26.6% | 13.8% | $388,136 | 81 |
| New Fairview | 184 | 33.7% | 14.7% | $489,900 | 84 |
| Haslet | 111 | 36.7% | 20.7% | $365,500 | 48 |
| Boyd | 593 | 38.5% | 24.1% | $325,000 | 56 |
| Newark | 195 | 38.5% | 24.1% | $305,000 | 54 |
| Alvord | 268 | 42.7% | 25.4% | $322,000 | 110 |
| Decatur | 1,112 | 42.0% | 26.5% | $425,000 | 68 |
| Runaway Bay | 288 | 52.3% | 30.6% | $300,000 | 83 |
| Bridgeport | 528 | 47.7% | 33.1% | $281,410 | 83 |
| Paradise | 422 | 48.2% | 35.3% | $445,000 | 84 |
| Chico | 208 | 56.8% | 41.3% | $307,500 | 63 |
Rhome, New Fairview, Newark, Haslet and Boyd sit on or beside US 287 in the south of the county, within commuting distance of Fort Worth and Alliance. They clear at 14–24%. Decatur, Bridgeport, Paradise and Chico sit further out and clear at 27–41%.
Chico houses fail three times as often as Rhome houses at a lower median price. Treating Wise County as one market, or pricing a Chico property from Rhome evidence, produces a number the market will not support.
Price and land: where it stops clearing
49.3% of Wise County houses asked above $750,000 never sold. Below that the market is broadly uniform at 24–31%, which means the top of the market is not merely harder here — it is a different proposition.
| Lot size | Addresses | Listings that failed | Houses that never sold | Median sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1/4 acre | 1,532 | 33.0% | 20.2% | $314,990 |
| 1/4 to 1/2 acre | 649 | 45.5% | 27.4% | $286,750 |
| 1/2 to 1 acre | 457 | 37.8% | 21.9% | $455,000 |
| 1 to 5 acres | 1,678 | 42.8% | 27.4% | $445,000 |
| 5 to 20 acres | 566 | 51.2% | 35.9% | $550,000 |
| 20 acres and up | 165 | 68.8% | 57.6% | $1,050,000 |
That 57.6% is the worst figure in five counties and three years. Properties classified Farm/Ranch failed 53.0% of the time, and manufactured homes 35.3%.
Large acreage in Wise County is close to illiquid. More than half of what comes to market above twenty acres leaves without a buyer, which means the closed sales available to support a price on such a tract represent a minority of attempts.
What this means if you own a house here
South Wise and north Wise are not the same market. Rhome at 13.8% and Chico at 41.3% should never be used as evidence about each other.
Expect to compete with new construction. Two closings in five were built since 2023. If your house is a 2005 resale, the comparable that looks closest on paper may be carrying incentives you cannot match and cannot see in the price.
Above $750,000 or above twenty acres, understand the base rate before you set a price. Half those houses do not sell. That is the condition under which a considered opinion of value is worth most, and the condition under which comparable sales tell you least.
When a Wise County listing fails, it tends to stay failed. Only 35% of failed listings were at an address that later sold, the lowest of the larger counties. The first attempt matters more here.
Scope and how I work in Wise County
I appraise one-to-four unit residential property and residential land. Wise County sits at the edge of my regular service area — the southern corridor towns of Rhome, Newark, New Fairview, Boyd and Haslet are routine, and Decatur, Bridgeport, Alvord, Paradise and Chico I take on a case-by-case basis depending on the assignment and the schedule.
What I will not do is accept an assignment in a market I cannot support with credible data. If the property is one where I do not have the comparable evidence to develop a defensible opinion — a large tract north of Decatur, an unusual improvement with no local precedent — I will tell you that before you engage me rather than after.
Fee and delivery date are quoted in writing before any work begins. Rural assignments involving wells, septic systems, outbuildings or acreage take longer to research than a tract house, and the quote reflects that rather than discovering it halfway through.
Common questions
What percentage of houses sell in Wise County?
Across the three years to October 2026, 41.8% of resolved Wise County listings ended without a sale — 2,750 of 6,573. Those listings sat on 5,024 distinct addresses, 22.9% of which were listed more than once, and 26.4% of those addresses never sold at all. That is the weakest result of the five counties measured for this research: Johnson 18.4%, Parker 22.2%, Hood 23.6%, Erath 27.0%. Within the county the range is wide, from Rhome at 13.8% to Chico at 41.3%.
Why are Wise County prices falling?
Supply. 40.2% of Wise County closings were built in 2023 or later, the highest share of any county around Fort Worth, and the median sale price fell from $369,900 to $355,000 over two years while volume rose. Resale sellers compete with builders who can buy down a buyer's rate or cover closing costs, concessions that reduce a buyer's real cost without reducing the recorded sale price. Builder-led subdivisions clear almost completely — Reunion had just 3.1% of its houses never sell — while the county as a whole runs at 26.4%.
How hard is it to sell acreage in Wise County?
Above twenty acres, 57.6% of Wise County properties never sold over three years — the worst figure in five counties. Five to twenty acres failed 35.9% of the time and one to five acres 27.4%, against 20.2% for lots under a quarter acre. Properties classified Farm/Ranch failed 53.0% of the time. Because a majority of large tracts never close, the comparable sales available to support a price on one represent a minority of the attempts made.
Is Rhome a better market than Decatur?
On this data, considerably. Over three years 13.8% of Rhome addresses never sold against 26.5% in Decatur, with Rhome's median sale at $388,136 and Decatur's at $425,000. Rhome, New Fairview, Newark, Boyd and Haslet sit in the south of the county on or near US 287 within commuting distance of Fort Worth and the Alliance corridor, and they clear at 14 to 24 percent. Decatur, Bridgeport, Paradise and Chico sit further out and clear at 27 to 41 percent.
- Source: North Texas Real Estate Information Systems (NTREIS) residential listing records for Wise County, 17 October 2023 to 15 October 2026. 7,421 listings on 5,024 addresses, of which 6,573 resolved — 3,823 sold and 2,750 expired, cancelled or withdrawn. Listings still active at the end of the period are excluded from failure rates.
- Two failure measures are reported. The listing rate is the share of resolved listings that came off the market without selling. The property rate groups listings by street address and counts an address as sold if any of its listings closed; 22.9% of addresses carried more than one listing. Sold listings are counted on close date and unsold listings on status-change date, so both sides of every rate cover the same span.
- Opening ask comparisons use original list price per square foot against closed price per square foot, both medians, excluding records without a usable living area.
- Lot sizes are derived from the MLS square-footage field rather than the acreage field; 3.3% of Wise County listings carry an acreage field that disagrees with it.
- Cities and subdivisions are reported where at least 60 addresses resolved. Figures are aggregate; no individual listing, address, price or client is identified.
Market statistics describe past transactions in aggregate and are not an opinion of value for any particular property. Nothing here is an appraisal. Data supplied by NTREIS and believed reliable but not guaranteed; NTREIS does not warrant it and it may not reflect all market activity. Figures as at the date of publication.