Cedar Crest is a good place to buy a house in Dallas if you are buying at the entry level, want a 1940s house on a real lot inside the loop, and can underwrite one specific risk: a wide gap between renovated resale prices and the underlying value of the surrounding stock. The median sale price was $259,000, up 6% year over year, over the trailing twelve months as of August 14, 2026 (Homes.com).
What does a house in Cedar Crest cost?
Metric | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|
Median sale price | $259,000 (+6% YoY) | Trailing 12 mo., Aug 14, 2026 |
Median list price | $275,000 | Aug 14, 2026 |
Price per square foot | $178 | Aug 14, 2026 |
Homes sold | 440 | Trailing 12 mo. |
Median days on market | 62 | Aug 14, 2026 |
Active listings | 172 | Aug 14, 2026 |
Months of supply | 4.70 | Aug 14, 2026 |
Median year built | 1949 | — |
Average size | 1,253 sq ft | — |
Median lot | 7,840 sq ft | — |
Source: Homes.com, August 14, 2026.
One scope warning that matters more than any single figure. The aggregator polygon labeled "Cedar Crest" covers roughly 19,015 homes across four ZIP codes — 75203, 75215, 75216, and 75224. That is far larger than the historic Cedar Crest core around the golf course. A median drawn across nineteen thousand homes in four ZIPs is a regional average, not a street-level one. Ask for comps within four to six blocks before you rely on any of the numbers above for a specific house.
At 4.70 months of supply and 62 days on market, this is the most buyer-favorable market in this batch. For context, that is roughly a balanced-to-buyer market by conventional reading, while Lake Highlands was going pending in ten days over the same period.
Where is Cedar Crest and what is it known for?
Cedar Crest is in Oak Cliff, southwest of downtown, organized around the Cedar Crest Golf Course.
The course is the reason the neighborhood exists and the reason it matters historically. It opened in 1919, designed by A.W. Tillinghast — the architect of Winged Foot and Baltusrol. It hosted the 1927 PGA Championship, won by Walter Hagen: the only golf major ever played on a Dallas course. The City of Dallas bought it in 1946.
After World War II, Cedar Crest became home to a concentration of Black physicians, business owners, and professionals, and the course became one of the few in the region open to Black golfers. Dr. Charlie Sifford won the 1954 United Golfers Association Negro National Open there.
Two naming traps worth clearing up, because both appear in search results: the "Cedar Crest House" at 2223 W. Jefferson is a single 1984-designated landmark building, not the neighborhood; and the "Cedar Crest Addition Historic District" on the National Register is in Normal, Illinois. There is no historic district and no conservation district covering Cedar Crest, Dallas. That is a genuine difference from Kessler Park and Lakewood, and it cuts both ways — no design review to navigate, and no protection against what gets built next door.
What kind of houses are in Cedar Crest?
Median year built is 1949, average size 1,253 square feet, median lot 7,840 square feet. In practice the stock runs:
- Shingled cottages — the volume product, typically the sub-$250,000 end
- Tudor Revival bungalows — the character stock buyers renovate
- Lime-washed and updated ranches — the $285,000–$400,000 renovated band
- Modern farmhouse new construction — infill, generally $600,000 to $1,000,000
That last band is the whole story of the neighborhood right now, and it leads directly to the risk section.
What is the appraisal risk in Cedar Crest?
This is the part The Agency Dallas raises first with anyone asking whether Cedar Crest is a good place to buy a house in Dallas.
Renovated homes trade in the $285,000–$400,000 range and new construction reaches $600,000 to $1,000,000, while the Zillow Home Value Index for the area sits at $183,623. Those numbers describe two different markets sitting on the same streets.
What that means concretely:
- Comparable sales are thin at the top of the range. An appraiser valuing a $650,000 new build may have very few genuinely comparable closings nearby.
- Appraisal gaps are a live possibility, not a tail risk. Know before you offer how much gap you can cover in cash.
- Renovation quality varies enormously. Some of the $300,000-plus product is a genuine down-to-studs rebuild with permits; some is cosmetic work over 1949 systems. Pull the permit history.
- Your exit depends on the block, not the neighborhood. Two streets apart can be two different price realities here.
None of that makes Cedar Crest a bad buy. It makes it a neighborhood where the diligence has to be specific.
What schools serve Cedar Crest?
Per the Dallas ISD 2024-25 feeder-pattern documentation, the core pattern runs Cedar Crest Elementary (TEA rating A, 2024-25 cycle) → John Lewis / O.W. Holmes Middle School (C) → Roosevelt High School (B).
Portal school panels for this area frequently name different campuses — Miller Elementary, Boude Storey Middle — because assignment genuinely varies by block across a four-ZIP footprint. Verify the specific address with Dallas ISD. The 2026 TEA cycle does not yet include published campus-level grades, so the A / C / B above are 2024-25 ratings and should be quoted as such.
An A-rated neighborhood elementary at a $259,000 median is not a common combination in Dallas. It is the strongest single argument for the neighborhood.
What is new in Cedar Crest?
Halperin Park — a five-acre deck park built over I-35E next to the Dallas Zoo — opened May 9, 2026. Deck parks have a documented history of pulling value toward the streets around them, and this one is three months old. Buyers looking at Cedar Crest today are looking at it before that effect is fully priced.
Other practical notes: Walk Score is 42, so this is a car-dependent neighborhood; DART Blue Line service runs at the Morrell, Illinois, and Kiest stations. We could not source a reliable current drive time to downtown, so we are not publishing one.
Who is Cedar Crest a good fit for?
Good fit:
- First-time buyers who want inside-the-loop with a real yard at an entry price
- Renovation buyers with a permit-and-inspection discipline
- Buyers who value an A-rated 2024-25 elementary at a $259,000 median
Look elsewhere if:
- You need to finance to the top of your approval with no cash cushion — the appraisal-gap risk is real
- You want design protection over what gets built next door; Kessler Park has a conservation district, Cedar Crest has none
- You need walkability. Walk Score 42 means a car for nearly everything.
The Agency Dallas answers the question of whether Cedar Crest is a good place to buy a house in Dallas the same way each time: it is the best entry price in this batch and it carries the most block-level variance, so the comps have to be pulled tight.
FAQ
How much is a house in Cedar Crest, Dallas?
The median sale price was $259,000 over the trailing twelve months as of August 14, 2026, up 6% year over year, at $178 per square foot (Homes.com). Renovated homes commonly run $285,000 to $400,000, and new construction reaches $600,000 to $1,000,000.
Is Cedar Crest a historic district?
No. There is no historic district and no conservation district covering Cedar Crest in Dallas. The "Cedar Crest House" at 2223 W. Jefferson is a single 1984 landmark designation, and the National Register "Cedar Crest Addition Historic District" is in Normal, Illinois — a frequent search-result mix-up.
What is Cedar Crest Golf Course known for?
It opened in 1919 to an A.W. Tillinghast design and hosted the 1927 PGA Championship, won by Walter Hagen — the only golf major ever played on a Dallas course. The City of Dallas purchased it in 1946. Dr. Charlie Sifford won the 1954 UGA Negro National Open there.
Are Cedar Crest schools good?
In the TEA 2024-25 accountability cycle, Cedar Crest Elementary rated A, the middle school rated C, and Roosevelt High School rated B. Assignment varies by block across four ZIP codes, so confirm your specific address with Dallas ISD rather than relying on a listing portal's school panel.
Is Cedar Crest a good investment?
It has the lowest entry price in this guide, 6% year-over-year median growth, and a new five-acre deck park that opened May 9, 2026. The offsetting risk is a wide gap between renovated pricing and underlying stock value, which makes appraisal support and tight comparable sales essential.
The Agency Dallas is a licensed Texas real estate brokerage. Information is provided for general educational purposes and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Market data cited is from the sources and dates noted; school accountability ratings are from the Texas Education Agency 2024-25 accountability cycle unless otherwise stated. School attendance boundaries change and vary by address — verify directly with the district. Equal Housing Opportunity.
