Think of DFW as three markets that share a name. The north suburbs run up the Dallas North Tollway and Central Expressway through Addison, Plano and Frisco toward McKinney. Fort Worth has its own downtown, its own Stockyards and its own neighborhoods.
Arlington, Irving and the other mid-cities sit between them, near the airport and Las Colinas. A drive from Plano to Fort Worth can take an hour or more in traffic, so one crew cannot cover all three.
The buildings change along the way. The newer suburbs are full of big planned neighborhoods, Uptown and Oak Lawn are mostly apartments, and Fort Worth has older homes of its own. Summers are long and hot, and spring can bring hard storms.
Both shape what people search for and when. Brokers answer to TREC, the Texas Real Estate Commission, and trades follow state and city licensing.