We buy houses in Houston, TX
We buy houses in Houston, TX for cash, in any condition. You pay no agent commissions and make no repairs before you sell. We buy with our own money, so we can commit to a closing date. Market figures below cover August 2026 and were last refreshed on September 17, 2026.
The typical home in Houston, TX is worth around $305,000, below the national typical value of $369,000. That value has fallen about 1.9% over the past year. It is a market-wide figure. A house that needs major work sits well below it, and a renovated one sits above.
The Houston market right now
- Typical home value
- $305,000
- Days to go under contract
- 74 days
- Listings cutting their price
- 29.5%
- Compared to nationally
- 17% lower
- Homes for sale
- 38,882
- New listings a month
- 8,390
- Months of supply
- 7.1
- Sales closing below asking
- 63.8%
-1.9% over the past year
+10% vs. a year ago
-1.7% vs. a year ago
National typical value is $369,000
+3% vs. a year ago
-0% vs. a year ago
Long queue, buyers can be selective
Nationally 50.0%
Houston, TX housing figures for August 2026, except the share closing below asking, which Zillow publishes a month behind and covers July 2026. Last refreshed September 17, 2026. Source: Zillow Research. Months of supply is calculated here as for-sale inventory divided by the monthly sales count. These are market-wide figures, not a valuation of any individual property.
What the Houston numbers mean for your sale
Houses here take about 74 days on average to go under contract. That is noticeably slower than the national figure of 53 days. Weigh that number carefully if you are paying a mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities on a house you no longer want. Several months of those costs on a slow listing can quietly eat more than the gap between a cash sale and full price.
About 29.5% of listings in Houston have cut their asking price, above the national share of 26.4%. Lots of price cuts usually means sellers start above what buyers will pay, then chase the market down. If you list, the real risk is not that the house never sells. It is spending two or three months learning your first price was too high, while the costs keep running.
If timing is your main question, see how long it takes to sell a house in Houston. It goes stage by stage, including what a normal sale adds after the house goes under contract.
If the real question is whether you can afford to keep it, see what it costs to own a home in Houston. That includes what owners with no mortgage left still pay.
Why sellers in Houston weigh this more carefully
In a slower market the comparison changes. The question is not just what a listing might fetch in the end. It is that price minus commissions, minus the repairs a buyer's lender will require, and minus several months of mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities. Then allow for the real chance that the first buyer's loan falls through and the clock restarts. Run those numbers honestly before assuming listing is the better deal. Sometimes it still is, and we will tell you when we think so.
How the sale runs, from first call to closing, is on how it works. The side-by-side with listing through an agent, including the row where listing wins, is on cash offer vs realtor.
What a Houston property tax bill is built from
A Houston tax bill is a stack of separate rates, one for each taxing unit. Each rate is charged per $100 of taxable value.
For tax year 2025, the Harris County Tax Office lists:
- City of Houston: $0.519190
- Harris County: $0.380960
- Harris County Flood Control District: $0.049660.
It also lists:
- Harris County Hospital District: $0.187610
- Port of Houston Authority: $0.005900
- Harris County Department of Education: $0.004800.
Your school district is usually the biggest single line. For 2025, the Tax Office lists Houston ISD at $0.878300 and Houston Community College at $0.098800.
Add those to the city and county units above. For an address in both of those districts with no utility district, the total comes to about $2.13 per $100 before exemptions.
Many Houston addresses sit in a different school district or a municipal utility district. So check the units printed on your own statement.
One cost you will not see at closing is a state transfer tax. The Texas Constitution says that after January 1, 2016, no law may be passed that puts a transfer tax on a sale of full ownership of real estate.
Sources: Harris County Tax Office: Tax rates by jurisdiction; City of Houston: Notice of meeting to vote on tax rate, tax year 2025; Texas Constitution, Article VIII, Section 29.
Protesting your value with the Harris Central Appraisal District
The value on that bill comes from the Harris Central Appraisal District (HCAD), not the city. HCAD says the protest deadline is May 15, or 30 days after your notice of appraised value was mailed, whichever is later. If May 15 lands on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.
HCAD points owners to filing online through an owner account, where the iFile number is linked for you. A 2023 HCAD release also lists mailing the protest or bringing it to the office at 13013 Northwest Freeway.
If you are deciding whether to keep a house, check that value each spring. It is one of the few costs you can push back on directly.
Sources: Harris Central Appraisal District: Frequently asked questions; Harris Central Appraisal District: Protest deadline is May 15 news release.
Flood questions on the Texas seller's disclosure
If you sell a single-family home in Texas, you must give the buyer a written disclosure notice (Texas Property Code Section 5.008). In a city that has flooded as often as Houston, buyers read the flood questions closely.
The notice asks if you carry flood insurance. It asks if water has entered the house in a natural flood. It asks if you have filed a flood claim or received FEMA or SBA flood help.
It also asks if the lot sits wholly or partly in a 100-year or 500-year floodplain, floodway, flood pool or reservoir.
The notice is due on or before the date the contract takes effect. If it is not given on time, the buyer may cancel for any reason within seven days after getting it.
The law exempts some sales, including sales under a court order or at foreclosure. Sales by someone managing an estate, guardianship or trust are also exempt. A real estate lawyer can confirm whether an exemption fits you.
If your house floods again and again, the Harris County Flood Control District runs a voluntary buyout program. It looks for homes deep in a mapped floodplain that flood repeatedly from bayous and creeks. It says sending in its Notice of Voluntary Interest form does not commit you to sell.
Sources: Texas Property Code, Chapter 5 (Section 5.008); Harris County Flood Control District: Volunteer for a home buyout.
Deed restrictions and the City of Houston
Houston is unusual. The City Attorney's office will go to court to enforce certain private deed restrictions. That power comes from Chapter 212 of the Texas Local Government Code and Sections 10-551 through 10-555 of the city code.
The Legal Department can seek a court order over:
- use
- setbacks
- lot size
- number and type of buildings
- orientation
- certain allowed fences.
That matters when you sell, because the seller's disclosure asks if you know of any notice of a deed restriction violation.
The Harris County Clerk says restrictions filed after 1961 can be searched in its online Real Property index. Enter the subdivision name as grantee. Older ones are on microfilm at the Clerk's central location.
Sources: City of Houston Legal Department: Deed restrictions; Harris County Clerk: Public records FAQ.
Local facts checked September 2026. Rates and rules change; a real estate attorney or the office named above can confirm them for your property.
Markets near Houston
We buy across this whole region, including the towns between these metros.
Selling a house in Houston
- Is there a transfer tax when I sell a house in Houston?
- No state transfer tax applies. The Texas Constitution bars any law passed after January 1, 2016 that puts a transfer tax on a sale of full ownership of real estate.
- When is the deadline to protest my Houston property value?
- HCAD says the deadline is May 15, or 30 days after your notice of appraised value was mailed, whichever is later. If the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day.
- Do I have to tell a Houston buyer my house flooded?
- In most sales, yes. The Texas seller's disclosure asks about past flood water in the house, floodplain location, flood claims and FEMA or SBA help (Property Code Section 5.008). Some sales are exempt, such as foreclosure sales and certain estate sales. A real estate lawyer can confirm which applies to you.
Tell us what you need for your Houston house
Two minutes to ask, no obligation, and no fee whatever you decide. If we are not the right answer, we will say so.
Sabrina usually picks up. (615) 576-8827