Houston homebuyers got a little more breathing room this fall-not much, but enough to notice.
According to the latest affordability report from the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), 39 percent of Houston-area households could afford the median-priced home in the third quarter of 2025, up slightly from 37 percent a year earlier as prices dipped and mortgage rates steadied.
HAR reported the median home price in the region fell 1.9 percent from last year to $341,600, while 30-year mortgage rates held near 6.5 percent. That put the typical monthly payment-including principal, taxes and insurance-around $2,510, about $40 less than last year. To stay within the standard affordability range, a household would need to earn roughly $100,400 a year, down about 1.6 percent from 2024.
Statewide, 42 percent of Texas households could afford a median-priced home, compared with 35 percent nationally.
“Lower mortgage rates and home prices are helping open the door for more Houstonians,” HAR Chair Shae Cottar said in the report. “While affordability is still a challenge, especially for first-time homebuyers, Houston and Texas continue to be among the more affordable markets nationwide.”
That trend tracks with what Houston-area buyers have been doing all year-moving farther out to find something in budget.
In HAR’s recent list of Houston’s most popular communities, eight of the top 10 had average prices below the metro average of $442,000. Waller, Crosby, West of the Brazos and Hockley all saw strong sales growth, with Waller’s up 95 percent year over year as prices there fell 13 percent to $335,000.
Even so, most Houston households-about 61 percent-still can’t afford the region’s median-priced home.
For renters, the picture hasn’t changed much either, with 45 percent able to afford the average single-family lease.
More News
Politics | Latina Democrat enters 2026 Texas governor battle
Gulf Coast | Strange boxes found on Texas beaches carry a toxic secret
History | How a 1973 homicide led Houston to a notorious serial killer
Money | Here’s how much you need to live comfortably in Houston
For the latest and best from Chron, sign up for our daily newsletter here.
This article originally published at Is the worst over for Houston homebuyers? Here’s what experts say..