Houston Housing Stats May, 2026

Houston, Texas
Buying & Selling Real Estate
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Houston Housing Stats May, 2026

Sharon Tzib
Real Estate Broker · Cypress, TX · Member since 2013 · 822 posts · 468 votes

https://www.har.com/content/department/mls

Houston Real Estate Highlights in May, 2026:

  • -Single-family home sales declined 3.2% year over year.
  • -Pending sales rose 5.8%.
  • -Days on Market (DOM) for single-family homes increased from 51 to 54 days.
  • -The single-family median price was statistically flat at $340,000.
  • -The single-family average price increased 2.3% to $447,301.
  • -Single-family home inventory was unchanged at a 5.1-months supply.
  • -Total property sales declined 3.1% to 10,088 units sold.
  • -Total dollar volume decreased 1.8% to $4.3 billion.
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Travis TimmonsPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Ellsworth, ME · Member since 2021 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
3mo

You guys know this...taxes and insurance are the weight on the Houston market. We sold a single family home in Sugar Land for $360k last year, which does not sound that expensive, but when you add up HOA, insurance, and taxes, the monthly mortgage on a 5% down 30 year conventional loan was $3500. Rents on that property are probably $2500...it was obviously bought by an owner occupant, but there is some real sticker shock for buyers on a loan estimate.

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  • Cameron TopePro Member
    Property Manager · Katy, TX · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3mo

    Thanks for the update Sharon! With DOM rising (almost 2 months!) we're seeing a lot of sellers turn to renting their properties while they wait for a better time to list. 

    Bad for sellers but good for investors and buyers!

    [email protected]832-770-7090
    1Reply
  • Sharon Tzib
    OP
    Real Estate Broker · Cypress, TX · Member since 2013 · 822 posts · 468 votes
    3mo

    Yes, some of the deals I've been getting for my buyer-clients have been kind of insane....

    1Reply
  • Travis TimmonsPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Ellsworth, ME · Member since 2021 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    3mo

    You guys know this...taxes and insurance are the weight on the Houston market. We sold a single family home in Sugar Land for $360k last year, which does not sound that expensive, but when you add up HOA, insurance, and taxes, the monthly mortgage on a 5% down 30 year conventional loan was $3500. Rents on that property are probably $2500...it was obviously bought by an owner occupant, but there is some real sticker shock for buyers on a loan estimate.

    2Reply
    • Cameron TopePro Member
      Property Manager · Katy, TX · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
      3mo
      Quote from @Travis Timmons:

      You guys know this...taxes and insurance are the weight on the Houston market. We sold a single family home in Sugar Land for $360k last year, which does not sound that expensive, but when you add up HOA, insurance, and taxes, the monthly mortgage on a 5% down 30 year conventional loan was $3500. Rents on that property are probably $2500...it was obviously bought by an owner occupant, but there is some real sticker shock for buyers on a loan estimate.


      You're 100% correct Travis. A lot of deals at todays prices and interest rates aren't making sense. 

      The flip side of that is someone (hopefully you) rode an incredible wave of appreciation over the past 5-7 years as values outpaced rent growth. 

      Do you think it's likely over the next 5-7 years values compress, or rent growth outpaces appreciation to get back to an equilibrium? 

      [email protected]832-770-7090
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  • Holly BrownBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2019 · 190 posts · 137 votes
    3mo

    Agree completely with Cameron. Finally a good time for investors! And you are right Travis, with some areas, property and MUD taxes will eat up returns. Even so, if you can keep the holding costs low, and stay out of flood and windstorm zones, the BRRRR strategy is finally working well again. We are consistently buying off-market right now and cash out refinancing them into the portfolio.

    281-250-0650
    Invest In Houston Real Estate Team
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Travis TimmonsPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Ellsworth, ME · Member since 2021 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    3mo

    @Cameron Tope affordability drives the Houston market like it does everywhere else. The monthly payment on the property I mentioned in my last post - at $360k - is the same as a $500k+ home in Tennessee, for example, after accounting for taxes, insurance, and HOA. Houston builds a lot of new housing, but the sticker shock of year 2 and beyond property taxes to pay back the development and infrastructure cost is wild and out of reach for most first time homebuyers that are not getting help from their parents.

    Inward migration and a ridiculously strong job market will always provide solid demand. It's probably going to be a slow up and down slog while wages catch up to the cost of housing. It's a matter of getting the first time homebuyer back in the market on the home value side. And I'll continue to use that house we sold as an example - it sat on the market for 60-90 with showing activity but no offers; we then lowered the price and got 3 offers in 2 days. There is a huge buyer pool, but you have to find the market price.

    As far as rents go, it's likely a similar story as I see it. You probably have a better handle on that than I do. 

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