In July 2026 there were 40,750 homes for sale across Greater Houston. That is the highest number the Houston Association of Realtors has ever recorded. It beat the record set the July before, which beat the one before that.
If you have been waiting for more choice, this is it. But the honest read on what that means is more interesting than the headline.
Is Now a Good Time for Buying a Home in Houston?
Not quite a buyer’s market, and the distinction matters if you are making decisions with real money.
Houston sits at 5.5 months of inventory, which is how long it would take to sell every listed home at the current pace. The Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M treats 6 to 6.5 months as balanced. So Houston is balanced, and leaning toward buyers, rather than over the line.
Here is the more useful fact. That 5.5 months is the highest since June 2012. Not the highest ever, but the loosest this market has been in fourteen years.
Why the record listing count but only a fourteen-year high in supply? Because Houston keeps growing. The metro added 126,720 people in a single year and led the entire country in population growth. More people means more houses and more listings. Months of supply divides by how fast homes actually sell, so it strips the growth out.
And sales went up, not down. Single-family sales rose 1.6 percent year over year even with inventory at a record. This is not a market falling over. It is a market where buyers finally have room to think.
Buying a Home in Houston: The Numbers Right Now
| Measure | Latest figure |
|---|---|
| Active listings | 40,750, an all-time record |
| Months of inventory | 5.5, highest since June 2012 |
| Homes sold in the month | 8,340, up 1.6 percent |
| Median price | $340,000, up 0.6 percent |
| Average price | $440,816, up 1.9 percent |
| Average days on market | About 52 |
| 30-year fixed mortgage | 6.65 percent |
Houston Association of Realtors July 2026 update, released August 12, 2026. Days on market from the June 2026 report. Mortgage rate from the Freddie Mac survey for the week ending August 20, 2026. Rates move weekly, so treat that one as a marker rather than a quote.
One more figure worth knowing, because most people assume the opposite. About 24 percent of active listings were newly built, which is a smaller share than before the pandemic. Builders are not flooding this market.
What Buyers Can Actually Negotiate Now
Leverage is real here, but it is not a fire sale. Homes priced correctly still move quickly. What has changed is everything around the price.
Across Fort Bend County over the last year, homes that failed to sell were asking about $46,000 more than homes that actually sold. Plenty of sellers are still testing high. Those are the listings where you have room.
Things worth asking for in this market: a rate buydown, closing cost credits, repairs after inspection, or a home warranty. On a home that has been sitting past the 52-day average, ask what has happened rather than assuming the price is firm.
The full county breakdown, including which cities have the most inventory, is on my Fort Bend housing market page.
Buying a Home in Houston for the First Time
The down payment is usually the obstacle, and Texas has more help than most buyers realise.
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TDHCA My First Texas Home offers up to 5 percent in down payment assistance as a deferred second lien with no monthly payment. Minimum credit score 620. Income and price limits apply by county.
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My Choice Texas Home works similarly and does not require you to be a first-time buyer.
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TSAHC offers 3 to 5 percent as either a grant or a deferred lien. Its Homes for Texas Heroes program covers teachers, nurses, first responders, veterans and corrections officers.
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Fort Bend County runs its own assistance program through its Housing Finance Corporation, offering up to $10,000 for buyers purchasing in the county. Funding is limited and first-come.
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The Texas Mortgage Credit Certificate turns part of your annual mortgage interest into a federal tax credit. It can sit on top of the programs above.
For 2026 the FHA limit across the entire Houston metro, Harris and Fort Bend included, is $541,287 on a single-family home. The conforming limit is $832,750. FHA needs 580 credit for 3.5 percent down.
Eligibility rules and funding change, so confirm current terms with a licensed lender before you count on any of it.
Buying a Home in Houston From a Builder
Builders are the most aggressive negotiators in this market, and buying from one is a different transaction from buying a resale.
Incentives here commonly run to rate buydowns, closing cost credits often reaching $25,000, and design centre allowances. They almost always require the builder’s own lender, so compare the whole package against an outside quote rather than the headline.
Three things resale buyers never face. Builder contracts are not TREC forms, so the protections you may have read about do not automatically apply. Your agent usually must be registered on your first visit or the builder can refuse to recognise them. And your property tax jumps in year two, when the home is reassessed as finished rather than as a lot.
My Cross Creek West builders guide works through all of this with real prices from one community.
Buying a Home in Houston After 55
Texas is unusually good to older homeowners, and the tax side is worth more than most buyers realise.
At 65 you qualify for an additional school district exemption on top of the general homestead exemption. Your school taxes are then capped at that year’s amount. That ceiling does not rise with your value. It can also transfer to your next Texas home as a percentage. I cover the mechanics, the forms and the deadlines on my Fort Bend over-65 property tax page.
Two local names come up most for single-story, age-restricted living. Del Webb Sweetgrass in Richmond and Bonterra at Cross Creek Ranch in Fulshear, both built around one-level floor plans.
If You Are Helping a Parent Move
This is the hardest version of buying a home, and almost nobody writes about it.
You are usually running two transactions at once. The parent’s house has to sell to fund the purchase, the timing has to line up, and several family members have opinions. Add power of attorney questions if your parent cannot sign for themselves.
The practical advice is to work out the order of operations before you look at a single house. Whether the sale funds the purchase, who has legal authority to sign, and what happens if the two closings do not align. An elder law attorney is worth an hour of their time here, and a CPA is worth another.
If You Are Downsizing or Right-Sizing
Most people in this position have owned for a long time and hold serious equity. That is an advantage, and a tax question.
The capital gains exclusion on a primary residence is $250,000 if you are single and $500,000 if you are married filing jointly. You have to meet the two-of-five-year ownership and use test. Those limits have not moved since 1997, so long-tenured Houston owners can exceed them. Talk to a CPA before you sign anything.
The other question is whether to buy first or sell first. In a balanced market with 40,750 homes listed, buying first is far more workable than it was three years ago.
If You Are Upsizing
Schools usually drive this decision. Katy ISD, Lamar CISD and Fort Bend ISD are the three districts most families choose between out here. The community pages under my communities hub break down what is zoned where.
The mechanics are easier than they were. With homes averaging 52 days, a contingency offer is realistic again, and you are not forced to sell before you have somewhere to go.
If You Are Moving to Houston
Out-of-state buyers get one thing wrong more than any other. They compare sticker prices and forget the carrying costs.
Texas has no state income tax, which is the headline. What offsets it is a combined property tax rate that commonly lands between roughly 1.8 and 3.5 percent, depending on the district. Newer suburbs add a MUD tax on top of that, typically between $0.20 and $1.50 per $100 of value. Both figures are ranges rather than quotes, and rates are set annually and change, so confirm the current rate for a specific address with the county appraisal district.
Insurance is the other surprise. Houston is the most expensive major metro in Texas for homeowners insurance, averaging $5,653 in 2025. Flood coverage is separate from every standard policy and has to be bought on its own.
None of this makes Houston expensive. It makes the monthly payment different from what the price alone suggests. Compare homes by the monthly number, not the sticker.
Rural properties bring one more variable. If there is no city sewer, you are on septic, which carries its own rules and costs.
One Rule That Changed This Year
Texas Senate Bill 1968 took effect on January 1, 2026. A real estate agent must now have a signed written agreement with you before showing you a home or giving you advice on one.
That is not a sales tactic. It is state law, and it applies at builder model homes too. It also means the terms of how your agent is paid are written down before you start, which is a good thing for you.
Common Questions
Is now a good time for buying a home in Houston?
There is more choice than at any point on record and more negotiating room than at any time since 2012. Prices are stable rather than falling, and sales are rising. That combination favours buyers who are ready.
How many homes are for sale in Houston right now?
40,750 single-family homes as of the July 2026 report, the highest figure the Houston Association of Realtors has ever recorded.
What is the median home price in Houston?
$340,000 in July 2026, up 0.6 percent year over year. The average was $440,816.
How long do homes take to sell in Houston?
About 52 days on average. Well-priced homes in good condition sell considerably faster.
Do I need my own agent to buy a home?
You are far better off with one, and since January 2026 Texas law requires a written agreement before an agent shows you property. On new construction, register your agent on the first visit.
What credit score do I need to buy a home in Texas?
FHA allows 3.5 percent down at 580. The main Texas down payment assistance programs set 620 as their minimum. Your lender is the one who can tell you what you actually qualify for.
What This Page Cannot Tell You
Every market figure here carries a date because every one of them moves. The inventory and price numbers are from the July 2026 HAR report. The mortgage rate is from the week ending August 20, 2026 and will already have changed.
I am a broker, not a lender, a CPA or an attorney. Rates and loan eligibility are a lender question. Capital gains and tax credits are a CPA question. Power of attorney and contracts are an attorney question. Exemptions and assessed values belong to the county appraisal district.
What none of this tells you is whether a specific house is worth what it is listed at. That is the part I can help with.
Start With the Numbers for Where You Are Looking
Whichever of those buyers you are, the first useful step is the same. Find out what homes actually closed at in the specific neighbourhood you are considering, and how long they took.
Tell me the area and roughly what you are looking for, and I will pull it. No cost, and no obligation to do anything with it.
No pressure, no hype, and no promises I cannot keep.
Zach Emmanouil
Broker Associate, ZACH RE GROUP at C.R. Realty
281-387-1535 | zach@zachregroup.com