Houston’s housing market is experiencing a significant increase in available homes, with the number of single-family listings rising by 26 percent year over year in September. The Houston Association of Realtors reported nearly 39,000 active listings last month. New listings also increased by 13 percent to reach 14,618 homes.
This trend follows a similarly high inventory in August, when Houston had almost 40,000 single-family listings. When including townhomes and condos, the city set a national record with a total residential inventory of 44,000 homes that month, according to Homes.com.
While fall typically signals a slowdown for home sales, September saw an end to several months of declining prices. From March through July, median home prices in Houston were lower compared to the previous year. In August, the average listing price was $443,000—only slightly above last year’s figure. Although the average listing price dropped by about $3,000 from August to September, last month’s average of $440,000 was still two percent higher than one year ago.
Despite these price changes, sellers are increasingly lowering their asking prices and offering discounts more frequently than in recent years. Houston has been at the forefront of this trend; earlier this year it had the lowest sale-to-list ratio among large metropolitan areas nationwide—a sign that buyers have gained negotiating power. In August alone, both Houston and Dallas led U.S. cities in price reductions as nearly one-third of sellers accepted discounts.
Harris County ranked fifth among the most-populous counties for annual decreases in median home price based on data from ATTOM.
Across much of the Sun Belt—including Texas and Florida—buyers are seeing greater leverage after years marked by rapid demand growth and fast-rising home values driven by migration into these regions. Now markets such as Houston have shifted abruptly into buyer’s territory.
