Texas · 5th largest metro area

Buying a home in Houston, Texas

In Houston, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $277,800, Harris County's effective property tax rate is 1.62%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $8,540 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $1,361 a month.

Data as of : Census ACS 2020-2024, Census Vintage 2024, HMDA 2025, HUD FY 2027. Sources

Houston home costs, fact by fact

About Houston

Houston sits in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area, ranked 5th among US metro areas with a population of 7,796,182. Owners occupy 42.1% of homes.

Reading the Houston figures

Houston's citywide numbers hide a very wide spread, so the ten sectors on Payotte matter more than the average. The city's median value is $277,800, below the Texas figure of $318,100. Inside the city, Memorial reports $733,000. Greater Uptown reports $515,000. Alief reports only $196,000, and Central Southwest $198,000. Eldridge / West Oaks posts $385,000, Kingwood Area comes in at $333,000, and both stand above the citywide figure. Clear Lake and Mid West sit close to it, with $299,000 and $266,000.

Rent and ownership split the city in different ways. Sharpstown has the lowest rent, $1,090, and only 25.1% of households there own. Mid West has the smallest owner share, 19.5%. Kingwood Area has the highest owner share, 76.2%, along with the highest rent, $1,790; Greater Uptown follows with $1,730, then Memorial with $1,710. Citywide, only 42.1% of households own, and rent is $1,361. HUD lists $1,497 for its smaller-home tier in the Houston metro zone, plus $2,017 for the larger tier, a federal benchmark and not a market median.

Housing age also varies. Sharpstown is the oldest of the ten, with a median build year of 1975 and 64.7% of homes built before 1980. Mid West follows with 1978 and 54.5%, then Memorial with 1979 and 51.7%. Eldridge / West Oaks is the newest, with 1997 and 13.8%, and Central Southwest comes next with 2001 and 33.5%. Older stock can mean more inspection questions for a buyer.

Against other covered Texas cities, Houston's value tops San Antonio's $235,700, and Tyler's $235,300 is lower still, yet under Dallas, which reports $320,700, and under Fort Worth, which reports $303,000. Its owner share of 42.1% is close to Dallas, where 42.4% own, while Midland reaches 65.1% and Fort Worth 57%.

Harris County adds a $4,489 median annual tax bill, from an effective rate of 1.62% on a typical county home valued at $276,600. Lenders recorded 35,942 loans in 2025, with a median total cost of $8,540, and the middle of the distribution ran from $5,777 to $12,025.

Calculate for Texas

If you buy

Texas state transfer tax

Texas has no real estate transfer tax. Change the price: the amount is recalculated instantly.

Price$318,100
State transfer tax$0
Share of the price—

Default price: the Texas median value of owner-occupied homes, $318,100 (Census ACS 2025). Rule: No transfer tax exists. Buyers pay county recording fees and a state-set title insurance premium. Who pays: No transfer tax to assign. Recording fees and the title insurance premium appear on the closing statement. Not included: county and city transfer taxes, recording fees, title insurance and lender charges. Texas transfer tax guide · all 50 states.

If you sell

Capital gain and the federal tax on it

Same federal rule in every state: Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes up to $250,000 of gain on a main home ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly).

Capital gain$350,000
Section 121 exclusion$250,000 (limit $250,000)
Taxable gain$100,000
Type of gainLong-term (owned over 1 year), 15% chosen
Federal tax on the gain$15,000

Section 121 excludes $250,000; the rest is taxable.

Gain = sale price minus your adjusted basis (purchase price, buying costs and improvements); selling expenses reduce it (IRS Publication 523). Long-term rates for sales in 2026, by taxable income including the gain (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.03): 0% up to $49,450 single or $98,900 married filing jointly, 15% up to $545,500 single or $613,700 jointly, 20% above. Not included: Texas state income tax on the gain (not computed), the net investment income tax, depreciation recapture on a rental or home office, and the reduced exclusion for an early sale. Agent commissions are negotiated and never set by law. Capital gains on a home sale.

Sectors of Houston

Houston is divided into the ten most populous of 88 super neighborhoods, one open spot per trade in each.

Source: City of Houston GIS, Super Neighborhoods (COH_Super_Neighborhoods_view). Population per area is a Payotte estimate: the sum of Census ACS 2020-2024 populations (table B01003) of the 2020 census tracts whose internal point lies inside each official boundary.

Questions about buying a home in Houston

How much is property tax in Houston?

Homeowners in Harris County pay a median $4,489 a year in property tax, 1.62% of the county median home value of $276,600 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Houston?

Home-purchase mortgages in Harris County carried median total loan costs of $8,540 in 2025; half of the 35,942 loans fell between $5,777 and $12,025 (HMDA). Total loan costs are the lender and settlement-service charges of the Closing Disclosure; transfer taxes and prepaid items come on top.

Is there a transfer tax when you buy a home in Houston?

Texas has no real estate transfer tax. Article VIII, Section 29 of the Texas Constitution, added November 3, 2015, says no law enacted after January 1, 2016 may impose a transfer tax on a transaction that conveys fee simple title to real property.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Houston?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Houston ($277,800) equals 17 years of the median gross rent ($1,361 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Houston?

Across Texas, the main hazards for home insurance are flood, tornado, wind and hail, and the insurer of last resort is Texas FAIR Plan Association (TFPA). Texas gets more tornadoes than any other state, according to the Texas Department of Insurance; on the coast, windstorm coverage comes from a separate policy, often from TWIA, in 14 coastal counties plus part of Harris County.

Run your own numbers: rent vs buy calculator · closing costs calculator.

Texas rules that apply in Houston

Other large cities in Texas

Who licenses each trade in Texas · All covered cities

Sources

Texas · All states · Federal guides