Is it a good time to buy a home in texas?

What does the Houston market actually look like right now?

As of August 2026, the Greater Houston area had 38,947 active single-family listings, a figure that was up slightly from a year earlier. Inventory held at 5.3 months of supply for single-family homes. To put that in context, the national figure sits at 4.6 months, meaning Houston is running above the national level.

Homes spent an average of 54 days on the market in August, compared to 52 days a year ago. That extra time matters. It means you have more room to schedule inspections, review disclosures and negotiate without the frantic pace that defined the market a few years back.

The median price of a single-family home came in at 330,000 dollars in August, down 5,000 dollars from a year earlier. The average price moved in the opposite direction, rising 1.2 percent to 426,760 dollars. Those two numbers moving in different directions tells you the market is not uniform. Lower-priced segments and higher-priced segments are behaving differently, which is worth understanding before you decide where to focus your search.

Townhome and condominium buyers are looking at even more supply. Inventory in that category rose from 8.1 months in August 2025 to 8.8 months this August, with 3,504 active listings and an average price of 245,692 dollars.

Has Houston's affordability actually changed?

Affordability is not just about price. It is the combination of price and the cost of financing. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate in August 2026 was 6.67 percent, up from 6.59 percent a year ago. At the same time, the median price fell 5,000 dollars. The net effect, according to the August 2026 Houston Association of Realtors report, is that monthly principal and interest payments on a median-priced home were slightly lower than they were in August 2025.

Houston's affordability has improved on a year-over-year basis in 22 of the past 25 months. The national comparison is 15 of the past 24 months. That gap is meaningful. It does not mean buying is easy or that prices will keep moving in your favor. There is no promise of that. What it does mean is that Houston has been moving in a more buyer-friendly direction more consistently than the country as a whole.

The segment breakdown from August shows where the market is shifting. Sales in the 250,000 to 499,999 dollar range fell 13.7 percent year over year, and the 500,000 to 999,999 dollar range fell 16.5 percent. Meanwhile, the under-100,000 dollar segment actually increased 11.1 percent. More supply and softer demand in the mid-to-upper ranges can create negotiating room that was not there before. Whether that room exists on a specific home depends on the property, the seller's situation and how long it has been listed.

Is the Houston market healthy or is something wrong?

Single-family sales in August 2026 totaled 7,100 closings, down 11.5 percent from a year ago. That sounds like a sharp drop, but context matters. Over the past 12 months, Houston recorded 88,565 single-family sales. In all of 2019, which the Houston Association of Realtors identifies as the last normal year before the pandemic, the total was 86,999. Houston is running above its pre-pandemic baseline.

The national picture is different. U.S. single-family sales were down 20.1 percent compared to 2019. Houston is not following that national trend. The local market has returned to a more normal pace while much of the country has not.

Pending sales in August totaled 7,939, which reflects continued buyer activity even as closed sales slowed. That gap between pending and closed is worth watching. It suggests buyers are still engaging with the market; they are just taking more time to get to the closing table, which is consistent with the longer days-on-market figure.

Total dollar volume across all property types reached approximately 3.5 billion dollars in August, across 8,362 transactions. Active listings across all categories rose 1.0 percent year over year to 60,390 properties. More supply, more time and prices that are not running away from buyers, that is the picture the data paints for August 2026.

So when is the right time to buy?

The honest answer is that the right time is when you are able, ready and willing. Market conditions are one input, not the only one. Your financial position, your timeline, your household needs and what you plan to do with the home all carry weight that no market report can measure for you.

What the current data does tell you is that conditions in Houston are more balanced than they have been in several years. More inventory means more choices. Longer days on market means less pressure to decide quickly. A median price that has edged down, combined with a slight improvement in monthly payments, means affordability has not gotten worse even as rates remain elevated. None of that is a promise that prices will stay flat or fall further. Real estate markets move in both directions, and no one can tell you with certainty what August 2027 will look like.

What tends to hurt buyers most is waiting for a perfect moment that may not come, while the months pass and circumstances change. Waiting is a decision too, and it carries its own costs and risks. That does not mean rushing. It means being clear on what you need, what you can carry financially and what trade-offs you are willing to make.

There are several ways to approach a purchase in this kind of market, and which one fits depends on your situation. I walk buyers through the options, the trade-offs and the steps so nothing catches you off guard. Talk to us to find the right option for your circumstances.

Common follow-up questions

Sources

• HAR - Monthly Housing Update and MLS Sales Activity

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