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Prototype of a planned home-buying brokerage for the 50 largest U.S. cities. Not a licensed brokerage in any state, and no brokerage services are offered. Listings, people and companies are sample data; market statistics are real public data, cited where shown.

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Trends · Texas

House prices and costs in Houston, TX

How house prices moved across 82 Houston ZIP codes, what buyers here borrowed and paid, what's new and how buying works in Texas. Public data, with sources and dates. Past change, not a forecast.

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro house prices +0.2% in the year to 2026 Q2 (FHFA, purchases)

7.03% is Freddie Mac's average 30-year fixed rate for the week of Sep 24, 2026, for buyers with 20% down and excellent credit. It isn't an offer or an APR.

How house prices moved in Houston, 2022–2025

Of 48 ZIPs with enough data, 28 rose 7% or more, 0 fell 7% or more and 13 moved less (no clear change); 7 swung too much from year to year to rank. Past rankings are a weak guide: of the ZIPs in their city's top 3 for 2019–2022, 25 of 134 (about 1 in 5) were top 3 again for 2022–2025; chance alone would give about 21. Past change, not a forecast.

FHFA's experimental ZIP house price index: houses with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans, from sales and refinance appraisals. Condos, co-ops and multi-unit buildings aren't in it. Tap a ZIP to see it on the map.

Largest house-price rises, 2022–2025

3-year change of the ZIP index; ZIPs with an index every year, 5,000+ residents and 1,000+ owner-occupied homes. Left out as too jumpy: a ZIP whose index rose 7% or more in one year and fell as much in another. Each year's change below.

  1. 1ZIP 770432023 +13.3% · 2024 -0.7% · 2025 +12.6%+26.7%
  2. 2ZIP 770472023 +15.8% · 2024 -4.1% · 2025 +12.7%+25.2%
  3. 3ZIP 770372023 +17.9% · 2024 +9.2% · 2025 -3.4%+24.4%
  4. 4ZIP 770252023 +6.8% · 2024 +7.4% · 2025 +8.0%+23.9%
  5. 5ZIP 770162023 +10.5% · 2024 +11.3% · 2025 -0.5%+22.4%

Largest house-price falls, 2022–2025

3-year change of the ZIP index; ZIPs with an index every year, 5,000+ residents and 1,000+ owner-occupied homes. Left out as too jumpy: a ZIP whose index rose 7% or more in one year and fell as much in another. Each year's change below.

No Houston ZIP's house prices fell 7% or more from 2022 to 2025.

Lowest owner-reported values

Median value owners report (Census ACS 2020–2024). Left out: ZIPs under 1,000 residents, less reliable estimates, and ZIPs where most owners live in condos or co-ops.

  1. 1ZIP 77028± $10K · ≈ $968/mo housing payment (est.) on a house, 20% down$121K
  2. 2ZIP 77016± $12K · ≈ $992/mo housing payment (est.) on a house, 20% down$125K
  3. 3ZIP 77033± $11K · ≈ $1,016/mo housing payment (est.) on a house, 20% down$129K
  4. 4ZIP 77029± $23K · ≈ $1,054/mo housing payment (est.) on a house, 20% down$135K
  5. 5ZIP 77093± $13K · ≈ $1,102/mo housing payment (est.) on a house, 20% down$143K

Population grew most

Residents, 2015–2019 to 2020–2024 (Census ACS): only changes larger than the margin of error, in ZIPs with 1,000+ residents.

  1. 1ZIP 7700221,015 residents+34.6%
  2. 2ZIP 7709817,210 residents+24.5%
  3. 3ZIP 7705428,272 residents+21.5%
  4. 4ZIP 7700747,808 residents+19.3%
  5. 5ZIP 77008 · includes Houston Heights41,645 residents+19.3%

Public loan records · 2025

What buyers here actually borrowed and paid (2025)

2025 home-purchase loans (first liens) on owner-occupied 1–4 unit homes in Houston's census tracts: 13,281 loans. These are loans that closed in Houston, not offers: a rate depends on your credit, down payment, points and the day you lock it.

Interest rate, 30-year fixed (conventional)
6.125% to 6.875%Middle half of loans; median 6.5% · 7,714 loans
Loan costs at closing
$5,302 to $10,311Middle half; median $7,272. Origination charges (points included) and settlement services, Closing Disclosure section D · 9,459 loans
Borrowed, every loan on the home combined
90% of the value (median)Middle half 80% to 96.5%. 61.4% of buyers borrowed more than 80% of the value, 48.4% more than 90%, 34.1% more than 95%. HMDA's combined loan-to-value: every loan on the home (second loans, down-payment-assistance loans and financed FHA or VA fees too) ÷ the value the lender used, so it doesn't show the cash buyers put down · 12,863 loans
Loan types
Conventional 72.1% · FHA 22.6%VA 5.3% · USDA 0%
Discount points
53% of loans paid pointsMedian paid: $2,866. Points buy a lower rate.
Loan limits, 2026
$832,750 conformingAbove it, a jumbo loan with its own rates and rules; FHA limit $541,287 (one-unit home, Harris County)

For comparison: 7.03% is Freddie Mac's average 30-year fixed rate for the week of Sep 24, 2026, for buyers with 20% down and excellent credit. It isn't an offer or an APR. Source: FFIEC Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data: 2025 Snapshot National Loan-Level Dataset (data as of June 1, 2026), via the CFPB HMDA Data Browser; Homiy's calculations (2025 loans; retrieved 2026-09-27).

Research · dated and sourced

What's new in Houston

Rail openings, zoning changes and big projects from primary sources, newest first. Stars on the map mark the ones with a location. News, not a price forecast.

  1. Zoning change

    Livable Places updates residential development rules

    Chapter 42 changes include larger second dwellings and new small-scale housing configurations. Houston’s lack of conventional zoning does not erase deed restrictions, flood rules or platting requirements.

    Houston Planning, Livable Places Chapter 42 changes
  2. Project

    Kinder Land Bridge reconnects Memorial Park

    The public land bridge and prairie project reconnect the park across Memorial Drive. The Conservancy records completion in February 2023.

    Memorial Park Conservancy, Kinder Land Bridge

Metro area · public data

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX

House prices, year to 2026 Q2
+0.2%FHFA purchase-only index
House prices, 5 years to 2026 Q2
+22.4%FHFA purchase-only index
House prices, 2025
+2.2%All sales and refinances, like the ZIP figures; 2022–2025: +10.4%
New homes permitted
7.6 per 1,000 residents60,170 homes · -8.7% vs a year earlier · Sep 2025–Aug 2026
Jobs, 12 months
+1.3%Aug 2026 (preliminary)
Population, July 2020 to July 2025
+10.3%7,904,627 residents in July 2025 (Census estimates)
Mortgage rate benchmark
7.03%Freddie Mac average, week of Sep 24, 2026

7.03% is Freddie Mac's average 30-year fixed rate for the week of Sep 24, 2026, for buyers with 20% down and excellent credit. It isn't an offer or an APR. New homes permitted is a supply signal: more permits per resident usually means more homes coming to market. Jobs, permits and population cover the whole metro.

Natural hazards, compared with other U.S. counties

  • Harris County, TX: expected yearly losses rated very high for hurricane, inland flooding, tornado; expected yearly losses rated relatively high for heat wave, winter weather.
    Other ratings for Harris County, TX
    • EarthquakeRelatively Moderate
    • WildfireRelatively Low
    • Coastal floodingRelatively Moderate
    • HailRelatively Moderate
  • Fort Bend County, TX: expected yearly losses rated very high for hurricane, tornado; expected yearly losses rated relatively high for inland flooding, heat wave.
    Other ratings for Fort Bend County, TX
    • EarthquakeRelatively Low
    • WildfireRelatively Low
    • Coastal floodingVery Low
    • Winter weatherRelatively Low
    • HailRelatively Moderate
  • Montgomery County, TX: expected yearly losses rated very high for tornado; expected yearly losses rated relatively high for hurricane, inland flooding, winter weather.
    Other ratings for Montgomery County, TX
    • EarthquakeRelatively Low
    • WildfireRelatively Low
    • Heat waveRelatively Moderate
    • HailRelatively Moderate
  • Waller County, TX: no hazard's expected yearly losses rated relatively high or very high.
    Other ratings for Waller County, TX
    • EarthquakeVery Low
    • WildfireRelatively Low
    • HurricaneRelatively Moderate
    • Inland floodingRelatively Low
    • Heat waveRelatively Low
    • TornadoRelatively Moderate
    • Winter weatherVery Low
    • HailRelatively Low

FEMA National Risk Index December 2025: Expected Annual Loss rating of each hazard, by county (NRI December 2025): expected annual losses to buildings, people and agriculture; FEMA's social-vulnerability adjustments aren't included. This describes each county, not this home. Check the address on FEMA's flood map; in a high-risk flood zone, a federally backed loan requires flood insurance.

Sources (9)

Research summary · not legal advice

How buying works in Texas

The usual steps, deadlines and closing costs for a purchase in Houston, from state law, standard contract forms and local custom. Contracts can change any of it. Homiy is a prototype: it isn't a licensed brokerage in Texas and offers no services here.

Who runs the closing
A title company runs the closing and holds the money. Typical time from contract to keys: about 30 days.
The contract
Your signed offer becomes a binding contract once the seller accepts it.
Details

TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), TREC No. 20-19

Buyer agreement
Written buyer representation agreement, or a showing-only non-representation agreement (14 days at most), signed before touring.
Details

Since 2026-01-01 an agent must sign a written agreement with a residential buyer before showing any home or, if nothing is shown, before presenting an offer (Occ. Code 1101.563).

Source: TREC: What changes in 2026 about buyer/tenant representation (Occ. Code §§1101.562–.563) (2026-01-07)

Option period
7 days after the contract takes effect. You pay the seller a fee (typically $100–$500) for the unrestricted right to end the contract in that time.
Details

Negotiated; 5–10 days is common (sample 7). The fee goes to the escrow agent within 3 days, is credited to the price at closing, and is kept by the seller if the buyer terminates. Notice by 5 p.m. local time on the last day.

Inspection
About 7 days for inspections.
Details

Inspections happen inside the option period; there is no separate inspection contingency.

Earnest money
1–2% of the price, due within 3 days, held by: Escrow agent (title company).
Details

TREC 20-19 ¶5A: within 3 days after the effective date, extended past weekends and Texas legal holidays. Typical % is a sample.

Seller's disclosure
Seller's Disclosure Notice (Texas Property Code §5.008) You may cancel within 7 days in some cases: notice delivered after the effective date; if never delivered, any time before closing.
Details

TREC 20-19 ¶7B; foreclosure, estate and new-home sales are exempt.

Source: TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), TREC No. 20-19 (05-04-2026, mandatory 2026-07-01)

Loan and appraisal
Loan contingency: 21 days (set in the contract).
Details

Third Party Financing Addendum sets the Buyer Approval days (21 is a sample). A low appraisal is only an exit if the parties add TREC's Addendum Regarding Right to Terminate Due to Lender's Appraisal.

Title insurance
The seller customarily pays for the owner's policy. Texas sets title insurance rates.
Details

Texas Department of Insurance sets title premiums. The seller customarily pays the owner's policy; ¶6A lets the parties choose.

Property tax for a new owner
The seller's caps and exemptions end with the sale; your assessment starts over at market value. About 1.3% of the price a year is our planning figure for Houston; your bill can differ.
Details

Appraised at market value each January 1. The seller's homestead exemption and 10% cap don't transfer; the buyer files for a homestead for the next year (school exemption $140,000 since 2025).

Official 2025 rates at a Houston ISD address: Harris County with flood control, port and hospital district 0.6241%, City of Houston 0.5192%, Houston ISD 0.8783%, Houston Community College and the county education department 0.1036%: 2.13% of value without a homestead. With a homestead ($140,000 plus 20% off for HISD; 20% off for the city and county units [medium]): 1.27% at $275,000, about 1.50% at $550,000. Assumes you live there, file for the homestead (by April 30; it starts the next January 1, or right away if the seller had none) and the district appraises the home at the price. The bill for the year you buy still reflects the seller's exemptions. The school exemption is a fixed $140,000, so the rate rises with price. Several units adopted higher 2026 rates in September 2026.

Agent credits to the buyer
Texas allows an agent to credit part of their pay to the buyer, with the lender's approval.
Details

A license holder may rebate part of its fee to its own client (22 TAC 535.147(d)); the buyer's lender must know and may limit it.

Source: 22 Tex. Admin. Code §535.147(d): a license holder may rebate fees to the party it represents (retrieved 2026-09-27)

Some of these facts rest on secondary sources (a law firm, title company or reference site, not the law or the form itself): Option fee (Texas): typical fees and practice (secondary); Houston Chronicle: Houston ISD's optional 20% homestead exemption (secondary).

Closing taxes

Texas and Houston charge no transfer or mortgage tax at closing in our research; recording fees still apply.

Programs and after you buy

Down-payment help
My First Texas Home (Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA))Down payment assistance and 30-year mortgages for first-time homebuyers and qualified veterans; My Choice Texas Home is open to buyers who aren't buying for the first time.Official page, checked 2026-09-28.Texas's housing finance agency runs it; the program decides who qualifies and for how much.
Down-payment help in Houston
Homebuyer Assistance Program (Homebuyer Hub) (City of Houston Housing and Community Development Department)Up to $75,000, based on need, for low-to-moderate-income first-time homebuyers buying within the City of Houston.Official page, checked 2026-09-28.
Homestead exemption
Property Tax Exemptions (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts)School districts must exempt $140,000 of a residence homestead's value, and any taxing unit may exempt up to 20% more; apply with the appraisal district in your county.Deadline: before May 1Official page, checked 2026-09-28.
If you disagree with your assessment
How To Protest Your Property Appraisal (Harris County Tax Office)Protest your appraised value with the Harris Central Appraisal District; when a later deadline applies, it's printed on your notice of appraised value.When: homesteads' early deadline April 30 (or 30 days after the notice); otherwise May 15Official page, checked 2026-09-28.
After you buy: alerts on your deed
Property Alert System (Harris County Clerk)A free email alert when a real property document is recorded under a name you monitor.Official page, checked 2026-09-28.
Sources (14)

Methodology

How we measure, and what it isn't

Past change, not a forecast. These figures describe the past from public data; they don't tell you where prices go next.

House prices by ZIP, and the rankings

FHFA's experimental ZIP house price index: houses with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans, from sales and refinance appraisals. Condos, co-ops and multi-unit buildings aren't in it. It's built from repeat sales and refinance appraisals of the same homes, not average sale prices, and FHFA publishes no margin of error for it. We rank ZIPs by the change over the last 3 years, only where FHFA published the index in every one of them, and only ZIPs with 5,000+ residents and 1,000+ owner-occupied homes. A change smaller than 7% either way is “no clear change”: in our 50 cities, the index's own year-to-year swings suggest sampling alone can move a three-year change about that much. A ZIP whose index rose 7% or more in one year and fell as much in another is left out as too jumpy. We show rises and falls, each year's change, and the city's and metro's figures for the same years. Past rankings are a weak guide: of the ZIPs in their city's top 3 for 2019–2022, 25 of 134 (about 1 in 5) were top 3 again for 2022–2025; chance alone would give about 21. Many ZIPs, especially dense ones, have no index.

City and metro price figures

City: the resident-weighted average of its ZIPs that have an index (the ZIP card says when that's only part of the city). Metro: FHFA's all-transactions index over the same calendar years, the ZIPs' method; the metro card also shows FHFA's purchase-only index for the latest quarter against a year and five years earlier. Where FHFA splits a metro into divisions (New York, Miami, Detroit and others), the division's index, named where it's shown. Jobs, permits and population always cover the whole metro.

Payment ÷ income

Monthly housing payment (est.) on a house at the ZIP's median value: 20% down · 30-year fixed at 7.03% (Freddie Mac average) · 360 monthly loan payments · APR not calculated (it depends on the lender's fees) · includes principal and interest, property tax, home insurance and any HOA dues, plus mortgage insurance below 20% down. Property tax uses Houston's rule for a new buyer (about 1.3% of the price a year, our planning figure); insurance is a typical premium. Not included: upkeep, utilities, flood insurance, special assessments. Divided by a month of the ZIP's median household income. The Census reports values over $2 million and incomes over $250,000 only as “or more”, so those shares are bounds (“at least”, “at most”). Left out where 50% or more of owner-occupied homes are in buildings with 5+ units: their HOA dues or co-op charges aren't in the payment. It combines two estimates, so no margin is computed. 7.03% is Freddie Mac's average 30-year fixed rate for the week of Sep 24, 2026, for buyers with 20% down and excellent credit. It isn't an offer or an APR.

Census figures and margins of error

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024: the median value owners report for their homes (it lags sale prices; co-op owners report the value of their shares), median rent with utilities, median household income, residents, and the property tax and monthly costs owners report. Each comes with its 90% margin of error (±). Figures whose margin is 20–49% of the estimate are marked “less reliable” and left out of rankings and tags; figures with wider margins aren't shown. A population change (from 2015–2019) is shown only when it passes the Census Bureau's 90% significance test; otherwise it says “no clear change”. Houston's own figures come from the Census's estimates for the city itself where published; otherwise they blend its ZIPs (no margin computed). Lists leave out ZIPs with fewer than 1,000 residents.

Tags

Lower home values:
The median value owners report is in the lowest quarter of the city's ZIPs (Census ACS). Less reliable estimates and ZIPs where most owners live in condos or co-ops aren't compared.
Population grew:
Residents rose 5% or more between the two latest five-year Census surveys, by more than the margin of error.
Mostly condos or co-ops:
Half or more of owner-occupied homes are in buildings with 5 or more units. Values there leave out HOA dues and co-op charges, so they aren't ranked.
New rail nearby:
A rail station opened within about a mile in 2023–2026.

“New rail nearby” uses our dated news pins: a ZIP whose center is within 1,600 m of a station that opened, plus the ZIP the station sits in. No tag describes price momentum.

Hazards and flood insurance

FEMA's National Risk Index rates each county's expected yearly losses from each hazard against all U.S. counties; we show those Expected Annual Loss ratings for every county the city lies in, without FEMA's social-vulnerability adjustments. They describe counties, not homes. Flood insurance counts are policies and claims in the federal program (NFIP) only. Check an address's flood zone on FEMA's flood map.

What buyers borrowed and paid

Public HMDA loan records: home-purchase first liens on owner-occupied 1–4 unit homes in the city (the card names the area covered), with the number of loans behind each figure. Loans that closed, not offers or quotes.

Neutral by design

We describe prices, payments, population counts, construction and rail lines. We don't describe places by who lives there, schools or crime, and we don't call areas “up-and-coming”, “transitional” or “safe”. Choose where to live for your own reasons.

Sources and dates