Weekly Real Estate News
Summary
Texas Realtors say buyers faced less competition and had more time to shop in 2026, while taxes, insurance and mortgage rates continued to constrain affordability.
Texas homebuyers are getting more time and facing less competition for properties, but the state’s affordability problem is increasingly about the full monthly housing bill rather than the asking price alone.
Sixty-nine percent of Texas Realtors surveyed said their buyer clients did not compete against another offer, up from 57% last year, according to the 2026 Texas Homebuying Experience Report. Nearly one-third said their most recent successful buyer purchased after making only one offer.
Buyers also appeared less rushed. Seventy-one percent of agents said clients felt they had either plenty of time or a reasonable amount of time to conduct their search, while just 2% described buyers as very pressed for time.
More inventory does not solve the payment problem
The survey shows why a market can become less competitive without becoming affordable. Among Realtors whose clients paused or stopped searching, 34% said available homes were too expensive. Only 6% blamed too few homes being available.
Agents’ open-ended responses also pointed to property taxes, homeowners insurance and mortgage rates as costs that surprised buyers once they calculated the full monthly payment. Forty-five percent said their most recent buyer ultimately paid about the target price they had established.
“Buyers are benefiting from more choices and more time to make decisions, but many are facing affordability challenges,” Texas Realtors Chairman Jennifer Wauhob said.
The findings cover member experiences with buyer clients from January through August, whether or not a purchase was completed. Texas Realtors has more than 145,000 members, but the report reflects agent perceptions and experiences rather than a census of every Texas home purchase.
The distinction matters because the survey captures what agents are seeing on the ground: bargaining conditions have improved for buyers, while financing and ownership costs continue to limit what those buyers can actually afford.
