Houston Housing Market Defies National Trends Amid Economic Uncertainty
Houston's housing market shows resilience with rising sales and improving affordability, contrasting national declines, while experts anticipate gradual recovery post-Iran war.
In a market where national home sales have plummeted to near 30-year lows, Houston stands out as a beacon of stability. According to a report from the Houston Association of Realtors, single-family home sales in the metro area rose 3.7% over the past year, while existing home sales nationally fell 3.6%. Pending home sales in Houston surged over 12% from a year ago, signaling strong buyer interest.
“The Houston housing market has been a stable part of the Greater Houston economy,” said Raymond Campbell of Houston Home Buyers. “We expect it will slowly gain steam once the Iran war ends and there are declines in mortgage rates and energy prices.”
Despite the positive sales trends, median home prices in Houston dipped 1.5% to $330,000, and homes spent an average of 67 days on the market, up five days from a year ago. However, affordability has improved in 17 of the last 20 months, according to Joe Huber of Alchemist Real Estate. “That news alone lends a great deal of optimism to the market,” Huber said. He noted that price moderation in areas like Katy, where home prices are down about $12,000 from last year, has been encouraging. “That is probably a result of buyers bidding up prices because so few homes were available for sale,” he added.
The last “normal” year for Houston home sales was 2019, before the pandemic. Last month, sales totaled 7,644, a 2% increase over 2019, further evidence of a stabilizing market. Nationally, the story is starkly different. U.S. existing home sales in 2025 were 24% lower than 2019, with a decline from 5.34 million units in 2019 to 4.06 million in 2025. Median national home prices, however, rose from $271,900 in 2019 to $407,600 in 2025, driven by a persistent supply shortage.
Inventory in the Greater Houston area increased 8.7% year-over-year to a 4.7-month supply, slightly above the 4.5 months a year ago and above the national level of 3.8 months. The townhome and condominium market faces challenges, with sales up only slightly and median prices down over 4%, while inventory swelled to 8.2 months.
Data aggregators report that one third of all sellers nationally have cut prices to close a sale, one of the highest percentages on record. The Sun Belt leads in price reductions, with Austin seeing 55% of sellers cutting asking prices, followed by Dallas at 47%, and Tampa and Fort Lauderdale at 45%. Experts attribute this to high mortgage rates, lower consumer confidence, and a competitive rental market.
“It is spring in Houston, and that is the most active part of the year for home sellers and home buyers,” Campbell said. “Summer is also active because the kids are out of school. The Iran war will end one way or another, and real estate will once again be on the minds of Houston home buyers.”