If you’re looking for a home, it’s a buyer’s market right now in Corpus Christi, where housing prices are cooling. But that may not necessarily be a good thing as the city stares down a “Level 1 water emergency” that could come as soon as September, according to revised estimates released by city officials. So how is the worsening water crisis impacting the Coastal Bend’s housing market, and what will happen if things continue to get worse? MySA took a look.
What is a Level 1 water emergency?
A Level 1 water emergency is the point when Corpus Christi officials estimate the city’s water supply will be 180 days, or six months, away from being unable to meet demand. Officials expect to reach that point by September.
Is the Coastal Bend water crisis starting to affect home sales?
The severity of the Coastal Bend’s water crisis has rapidly accelerated over the last few months – since city officials first began to publicly bandy about words like “water emergency” in January. But already, the region’s housing market is experiencing changes. According to Zillow’s Home Values Index, home sale prices are down by about 0.8% through April 30, 2026, compared to this time last year.
Zillow currently ranks Corpus Christi’s “Market Heat Index” – or the balance between for-sale supply compared to demand – at 40.1, making it a buyer’s market. The city’s supply of housing began outpacing demand sometime around 2022 and has mostly stalled over the last four years, the data show. Further, Corpus Christi homes are spending weeks on the market – averaging around 42 days – and as many as two-thirds are selling below list price.
Are people leaving Corpus Christi, and where are they going?
Another real estate site, Redfin, shows that there’s still a good mix of people moving into the region, but also a significant amount who are leaving the Coastal Bend. The biggest transplants into Corpus Christi are coming from San Antonio, Dallas and Salt Lake City, Utah. Meanwhile, many of those leaving the area are choosing to stay close to the coast, with the majority heading toward Houston.
Is new home construction at risk if Corpus Christi’s water crisis worsens?
Earlier this week, the Corpus Christi City Council amended its protocols for responding to a Level 1 water emergency. The updated policies set new restriction thresholds for residential, commercial and industrial water consumers in the event of such an emergency.
The policies call for as much as 25% curtailment – or reduction – of water usage compared to historical baselines. They also call for “optional” surcharges on non-residential customers who use more water than allotted. However, unlike other Texas cities that are grappling with water supply concerns, Corpus Christi’s revamped Level 1 water emergency policies do not call for mandatory restrictions on new construction. Instead, restrictions are left to the discretion of city administrators.
“During a Level 1 and Level 2 water emergency, the following measures are optional water use restrictions that may be implemented by the city manager, or designee, with city council approval, as conditions warrant,” reads the new policy before listing that applications for new or expanded water connections could be suspended. New construction cannot proceed without water service.
By contrast, in the Rio Grande Valley, which in 2022 saw its reservoirs fall below 20% for the first time, many drought contingency plans include triggers that automatically prohibit new construction as a water crisis worsens.
This article originally published at How is Corpus Christi’s water crisis impacting its housing market?.