Northwest ISD's board of trustees heard a presentation from Zonda Demographics about development and growth updates pertaining to the district during their regular Aug. 24 meeting.
The reports show that while new home starts and closings are down across Dallas-Fort Worth, those same data sets within NISD are increasing on a moderate level and enrollment is projected to hit more than 37,000 students by the 2035-36 school year.
The gist
Stuart Keogh, an educational advisor with Zonda Demographics, said while the housing market within Dallas-Fort Worth and nationwide have slowed due to elevated affordability, interest rates and economic uncertainty, Northwest ISD is still projecting growth.
According to the presentation, NISD had 32,839 students enrolled for the 2025-26 school year. That number is expected to jump by 8.38% to 35,591 students by the 2030-31 school year and by 13.5% to 37,273 students for the 2035-2036 school year.
Keogh said notable updates for the second quarter of 2026 include:
- 1,290 homes under construction
- 5,850 available house lots
- 31 possible future subdivisions with 41,500 single-family lots
- Groundwork underway on 6,400 lots
“The best way to characterize Northwest ISD right now [is] near-term moderation but continued long-term growth,” Keogh said.
For the first quarter of 2026, there were 862 home starts, or the start of construction on new homes, and 956 home closings, which matches first-quarter numbers from before the COVID-19 pandemic.
He added that the continued strength in starts across the second quarter are indicative of the district’s continued expected growth. He said Zonda is also looking at finished vacant inventory, or houses that have been built but have not been sold.
In NISD, there are 500 available homes that are move-in ready. Keogh said that figure is not very alarming since there are other growing districts with inventory in the thousands. He added from an enrollment standpoint, there are houses that are turnkey for families.
Also of note
According to the presentation, there are 3,000 rental units under construction within NISD. Approximately 620 of those units are single-family rental homes.
There are more than 7,300 future rental units being planned across the district, with more than 200 of those units being single-family rentals.
When asked by trustee Mark Schluter on how many available units are occupied, Keogh said at least 90%.
Looking ahead
Superintendent Mark Foust said this data will continue to be crucial for the district as officials prepare to adjust the high school attendance boundaries in preparation for Davis High School, NISD’s fourth comprehensive high school, to be completed before the start of the 2027-28 school year.
“We’ll start sharing [that data] with the community in September or October and bring it to the board for consideration,” Foust said. “Hopefully by Thanksgiving it will all be approved.”
