Homes for Sale Under 500K in Arlington, TX

You'll pay around $340,000 for a median Arlington home, well below the Dallas–Fort Worth metro median near $410,000. Location drives the spread, because new builds in north Arlington's Viridian community start in the $390,000s while older homes near downtown and UTA sell for far less. Budget another 2% to 5% for closing costs.

Pantego is the safest address in the Arlington area, a small enclave city fully surrounded by Arlington that reports roughly 95% less violent crime. Inside Arlington itself, Viridian and Interlochen near River Legacy Park run 40% to 70% below national crime averages. Pull address-level data before you trust any neighborhood's reputation.

You're covering the state's missing income tax through property levies, and Arlington's median effective rate sits near 1.49%. That average hides a real spread, from about 1.32% in ZIP 76014 to 2.00% in 76005, driven mostly by which school and assessment districts you land in. Texas Proposition 13 raised the school homestead exemption to $140,000 starting with the 2025 tax year, trimming roughly $1,700 off a typical annual bill. File that exemption as soon as you close.

Yes, the Texas Veterans Land Board lends up to $832,750 on a fixed-rate loan for a Texas primary residence, including Arlington. A VA service-connected disability rating of 30% or higher earns you a half-point rate discount. At a 100% rating, Tarrant Appraisal District exempts your Arlington homestead from property tax entirely, which is worth thousands a year at local rates. You can pair the VLB loan with your federal VA entitlement, but the board will not refinance an existing mortgage.

Proximity to the Entertainment District lifts your income potential more than your resale price. Arlington confines short-term rentals to a mapped STR Zone reaching about a mile from the district's center near AT&T Stadium, and a single-family house outside it almost never qualifies for a permit. That makes the address itself worth something no other Arlington property can match. You trade it for permanent event-night gridlock, and the Cowboys just re-signed through 2055 under a $273 million city deal.

Yes, order a separate foundation inspection on any Arlington home, new build or not. The expansive clay under Tarrant County swells when wet and shrinks through drought, and that yearly cycle cracks slabs, sticks doors, and tilts floors.

An independent structural engineer's report runs $400 to $700 across DFW and carries far more negotiating weight than a general inspector's checkbox.

Treat tornadoes as a real spring risk, since Arlington sits in one of the country's most tornado-active corridors. Texas logs roughly 130 to 150 confirmed tornadoes a year, and Tarrant County has recorded EF-3 and EF-4 damage. Most Arlington homes were built without a safe room, and the regional rebate that once covered half the install cost closed in 2020. Budget the full price yourself.

You need a car in Arlington, which posts a Walk Score of 38 and a Transit Score of zero. No fixed-route bus system exists here at all; the city runs Via on-demand rideshare with virtual pickup corners instead. Downtown near UTA scores in the mid-60s for walkability, but the rest of the city trails Dallas and Fort Worth badly on sidewalks and transit.

Yes, foundation findings routinely move the price here, because so many Arlington slabs ride the same shifting clay. Get a structural engineer's report first. Sellers discount active movement far more readily than old settling that has stabilized, and Texas law requires them to disclose past repairs plus any transferable warranty. Ask for those contractor records and transfer the warranty at closing.