Houston Real Estate - 13985 Homes for Sale and What the Numbers Actually Mean
Houston has 13,985 active listings, a median sold price of $314,790 over the last 12 months, and only 19% of homes closing at or above asking price - giving buyers more room to negotiate than the headline inventory number suggests.
The state of play
Houston is carrying 13,985 active listings right now, with about 4,412 homes selling per month. That works out to roughly 3.2 months of supply, which technically sits in seller's market territory - but the full picture is more nuanced than that single number. New listings are feeding the pool steadily, and with average days on market running at 73 days, most sellers are waiting more than two months to find a buyer. Buyers have real options here; sellers still have an edge on paper, but it is not the kind of edge that lets you price aggressively and expect a quick result.
At about 3.2 months of supply, Houston sits in a seller's market territory.
Source: Houston MLS · Houston · active inventory vs. trailing-12-month sales pace
Only 19% of Houston homes are closing at or above asking price - which means for most buyers, the list price is a starting point, not a ceiling.
What prices are actually doing
The median list price on active Houston homes is $321,523, and the median sold price over the last 12 months is $314,790 - a gap of about $6,733. That spread tells you something important: on average, sellers are trimming their expectations between list day and closing day. The more telling number is that only 19% of homes are closing at or above asking price. That means roughly 4 in 5 transactions are settling below the list price. For a buyer writing an offer, this suggests starting below the list price is a reasonable strategy on most homes, not a lowball move. For a seller, it means pricing precisely from the start matters more than leaving room to negotiate down.
- Median list price: $321,523
- Median sold price, last 12 months: $314,790
- Closing at or above asking: 19%
Active listings carry a median of $321,523; homes have closed at a median of $314,790 over the last year — a $6,733 gap worth understanding before you price or offer.
Source: Houston MLS · Houston · active inventory vs. trailing-12-month closings
About 19% of recent Houston sales closed at or above the asking price — your read on how much room there is to negotiate.
Source: Houston MLS · Houston · last 12 months
What this means if you're moving this year
If you are buying in Houston right now, the data is working in your favor more than the 3.2 months of supply headline implies. With 73 average days on market and only 19% of homes closing at or above ask, you have negotiating room on the majority of listings. Take your time, request seller concessions where the listing has been sitting, and do not assume a list price is a floor. If you are selling, the 3.2 months of supply does mean demand exists - but with nearly 14,000 competing listings and most homes selling below list, your pricing strategy is everything. Homes priced at or just below the $314,790 median sold price are likely to move faster and attract more serious buyers than homes priced optimistically above $321,523 and then reduced. Get your pricing right on day one rather than chasing the market down.
On the market right now
A few homes that just came up in Houston, pulled live from the MLS as you read this.
