General

Is now a good time to buy a house in Houston?

Answered by Allen Markel, REALTOR®, Texas Premier Realty · Published September 26, 2026

Short answer

It is the right time when you are able, ready and willing, and the exception is a stay of only one or two years. No market number decides it for you. What the data can show is the current picture. In our closed-sale data for the 90 days through September 25, 2026, the median sold price in Harris County was $319,990, with a median of 27 days on the market. Look at price trend, time on market, your budget and your timeline together.

The table shows closed-sale medians and inventory by county from Allen Markel's MLS database, pulled September 26, 2026. It covers residential closings from June 27 through September 25, 2026 (90 days) and active listings on the pull date. Harris County recorded 11,010 closed sales with a median close price of $319,990 and a median of 27 days on market. Montgomery County had 3,607 closings at $331,500 and 37 days, and Fort Bend had 2,932 closings at $389,000 and 30 days. Waller had 401 closings at $335,000 and 43 days. Grimes (56) and Austin (77) counties have small samples and swing widely, so I would not read much into their medians.

Months of inventory divides active listings by the average monthly closings in that 90-day window. On that basis Harris is at 5.6 months, Montgomery 5.7, Fort Bend 5.5, Waller 7.8, Austin 7.7 and Grimes 6.3. Between 42 and 49 percent of active listings in these counties have a current list price below the original list price, using the same definition in each county.

Medians describe the middle sale, not any one home, and a county blends very different neighborhoods and price ranges. This table shows one window and does not compare it to an earlier period.

Use it as one input. A flat median with a short time on market tells you homes are selling at a steady pace; it does not tell you whether a particular house is fairly priced. That is what a comparison of recent nearby sales does, and it is why the pricing question on this site starts from actual comps.

The other inputs are personal: your monthly budget including taxes and insurance, how long you expect to stay, and how large your down payment and reserves are. Interest rates also matter, but I am not quoting a rate here because it changes daily and I did not source one for this answer.

I also do not forecast prices. If you would like the current numbers for the area you are considering, I can pull them for you and walk through what they mean for your situation. If you tell me your price range and areas, I will pull the closed sales for those areas and show you the numbers without a sales pitch, so you can decide for yourself.

What I tell my clients

Buying and selling are really the same question. It is the right time when you are able, ready and willing. Life has events, and you cannot live in fear of the market. If a change in housing is what makes sense for your life and you are ready and able, then yes, buy or sell.

The exception is a short stay. If you will only be in the home one or two years, my answer is no. It costs money to buy and it costs money to sell, two years is not enough time to build equity, and you would likely have to bring money to closing.

If you are buying and selling, you are on both sides of the market, so what you give up on one side the market gives back on the other. People fixate on getting the most for their house. Do as well as the market allows, and remember that a weakness on the sell side can be a strength on the buy side, and the other way around.

If you are only buying, here is what the market shows right now. Over the last 90 days, ending September 25, 2026, Harris County had 11,010 closed sales at a median price of $319,990 and a median of 27 days on the market. As of September 26, 2026, it has about 20,516 homes for sale, about 5.6 months of inventory, and 42 percent of active listings have had a price cut (our MLS data). The table above shows all six counties. Memory of the pandemic is short: when rates were ultra low, some buyers paid well over asking. Today it is worth asking the seller to help with your closing costs, because that is negotiable.

There are also better times of the year for a buyer. Price drops at seasonal changes are normal every year, so ask me what the numbers show for the season you are in.

Many people have waited a long time for rates to fall. Waiting has a cost of its own, because prices can move while you wait. Ask a lender for today's rate. If rates fall later, you may be able to refinance. You cannot un-buy at today's price. Over long periods U.S. home prices have risen, with a few down stretches, and there is no guarantee.

If you are able, ready and willing, the time to buy is today, and the next-closest time was yesterday. Owning a home is one of the main ways people build lasting wealth. Talk to a lender about your own numbers before you decide.

Closed sales and inventory by county, last 90 days
County	Closed sales (last 90 days)	Median close price	Median days on market	Active listings	Months of inventory	Active listings with a price cut
Harris	11,010	$319,990	27	20,516	5.6	42%
Fort Bend	2,932	$389,000	30	5,421	5.5	47%
Montgomery	3,607	$331,500	37	6,848	5.7	49%
Waller	401	$335,000	43	1,047	7.8	49%
Grimes	56	$313,500	42	118	6.3	46%
Austin	77	$315,000	45	197	7.7	48%

Sources: Allen Markel's MLS database (listings_sold and listings_active), read-only queries by county (data as of )

Common follow-up questions

What is days on market?

It is the number of days from when a home is listed until it goes under contract, as recorded in the MLS. The median is the middle value across all closed sales in the period.

Will prices go up or down next year?

Nobody can say reliably. This page reports recent closed sales, not forecasts. Your budget, your timeline and the price of the specific home matter more than a prediction.

Where can I see numbers for my neighborhood?

Send me the area and I will pull recent closed sales for it. County medians blend many different neighborhoods, so a smaller area is more useful.

Sources

Allen Markel's MLS database (listings_sold, listings_active), pull of 2026-09-26 (_scratch/_overnight_2026-09-25/H9/COUNTY_TABLE.json)
Harris County market activity, site refresh 2026-09-25 (answer HC-11; community-data/county-harris.json)
FHFA House Price Index overview

Talk it through with Allen

A short call can turn a general answer into one for your address, your timeline and your numbers.

Call (832) 709-2540

Is now a good time to buy a house in Houston?

Short answer

Common follow-up questions

Sources

Talk it through with Allen

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