What is the housing market in texas?

What is happening with home sales and inventory right now?

The most recent data covering the Greater Houston area comes from August 2026. Single-family home sales totaled 7,100 closings that month, a decline of 11.5% compared to August 2025. Across all property types, including townhomes and condominiums, total transactions reached 8,362, down 10.2% year over year, with a combined dollar volume of approximately $3.5 billion.

Despite the drop in sales, buyer activity has not stopped. Pending sales for single-family homes totaled 7,939 in August, which shows that households are still engaging with the market even as the pace has moderated. Homes spent an average of 54 days on the market, up from 52 days a year earlier.

Active single-family listings reached 38,947 homes in August, a 0.5% increase year over year. Across all property categories, active listings rose 1.0% to 60,390 properties. The months of inventory for single-family homes held at 5.3 months. For context, the national supply sat at 4.6 months during the same period, meaning Houston is carrying more available supply than the country as a whole.

Townhome and condominium inventory tells a similar story. Active listings in that segment rose 3.1% to 3,504 properties, and months of inventory climbed from 8.1 months in August 2025 to 8.8 months in August 2026. That is a meaningful increase in options for anyone considering that type of property.

Where do prices stand and how has affordability changed?

The median price for a single-family home in the Greater Houston area was $330,000 in August 2026, a decline of $5,000 compared to August 2025. The average price for existing single-family homes specifically fell 1.0% to $433,016, while the median for that same existing-home segment dropped 2.9% to $330,000.

For townhomes and condominiums, the average price declined 1.5% to $245,692, and the median fell 7.1% to $195,000. That is a more pronounced shift in that segment, which now carries nearly nine months of supply.

Affordability in Houston has improved on a year-over-year basis in 22 of the past 25 months, according to the August 2026 report. That outpaces the national trend, where affordability improved in only 15 of the past 24 months. The slight price decline in August, combined with mortgage rate movement, contributed to a modest reduction in monthly principal and interest payments compared to a year earlier.

Looking at where sales are happening by price range gives a clearer picture of the market. The segment under $100,000 was the only one that grew, up 11.1% to 110 transactions. Every other price band saw declines. The $250,000 to $499,999 range, which represents the largest share of activity at 3,949 transactions, fell 13.7%. The $500,000 to $999,999 range dropped 16.5% to 1,221 transactions. The segment at $1 million and above declined 2.1% to 334 transactions. The $100,000 to $149,999 range fell 4.8% to 177 transactions, and the $150,000 to $249,999 range dropped 11.3% to 1,308 transactions.

These numbers reflect a market where demand is present but buyers are taking more time and have more choices, which is putting modest downward pressure on prices across most segments.

How does today's market compare to before the pandemic?

One useful way to understand where Houston stands is to compare it to 2019, which is widely considered the last normal year before the pandemic disrupted housing markets nationwide.

Over the past 12 months ending in August 2026, single-family home sales in the Greater Houston area totaled 88,565 properties. In all of 2019, that figure was 86,999. Houston has essentially returned to and slightly exceeded its pre-pandemic baseline in terms of transaction volume.

The national picture is very different. U.S. single-family housing sales were down 20.1% compared to 2019 levels as of the August 2026 report. That gap between Houston's recovery and the national situation reflects how the local market has absorbed the post-pandemic correction differently than much of the country.

The data used in these reports comes from listing activity across the Greater Houston area as recorded through the local association's reporting system. It covers single-family homes, condominiums, and townhouses, both new construction and existing, that were sold through that system. Sales negotiated directly between a builder and buyer outside of that system are not captured in these figures, so the actual volume of new construction activity is likely higher than what the numbers show.

For broader statewide context, the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University aggregates data from more than 50 reporting systems across Texas and publishes housing activity reports covering the state, metropolitan areas, counties, and local market areas. That data is updated monthly and is publicly available at trerc.tamu.edu. More detailed breakdowns by zip code, neighborhood, and school district are published separately for licensed REALTORS.

What does a more balanced market mean for buyers and sellers?

A market with 5.3 months of single-family inventory sits close to what many economists consider a balanced range, generally described as somewhere around five to six months. Below that range, sellers tend to have more leverage. Above it, buyers do. Houston is sitting near that midpoint, which is why the word balance keeps appearing in the August 2026 data.

For a seller, that means prices have not collapsed, but the days of receiving multiple offers within hours of listing are largely behind us in most price ranges. Homes are sitting on the market longer, averaging 54 days, and buyers are negotiating more carefully. Pricing a home correctly from the start matters more in this environment than it did two or three years ago.

For a buyer, more inventory means more time to evaluate options and less pressure to waive contingencies or skip inspections. The option period, which is a negotiated window built into Texas contracts that gives a buyer the right to terminate for any reason, becomes more meaningful when the market is not moving at a frantic pace. Buyers can use that time to complete inspections and negotiate repairs without the fear that the home will be gone if they ask for anything.

That said, the market is not the same in every price range or every part of the Houston area. The sub-$100,000 segment is actually growing in transaction volume. The upper price ranges are seeing steeper declines. Conditions in Fort Bend County, Montgomery County, Harris County, and the other counties Allen serves can vary from one subdivision to the next.

The right move, whether you are buying or selling, depends on your timeline, your financial position, and what is happening in the specific area and price range you are focused on. Waiting is sometimes the right answer, but putting off a decision that fits your circumstances has its own costs, and there is no guarantee that conditions will shift in your favor. The clearest way to understand what the current market means for your situation is to talk to us to find the right option for your circumstances.

Common follow-up questions

Sources

• Texas Real Estate Research Center (Texas A&M) - Housing Activity
• HAR - Monthly Housing Update and MLS Sales Activity
• FHFA - House Price Index

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