Texas · 174th largest metro area

Buying a home in Longview, Texas

In Longview, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $202,600, Gregg County's effective property tax rate is 1.16%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $7,180 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $1,101 a month.

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

Longview home costs, fact by fact

About Longview

Longview is an incorporated city with 83,668 residents, in the Longview, TX metro area. The median home value is $202,600, an owners' estimate rather than a sale price, and 54.7% of homes are owner-occupied. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom is $1,232.

Reading the Longview figures

Longview is a smaller metro by rank, and its housing figures sit near the bottom of this Texas group. Owners estimate the median at $202,600, a long way under the statewide $318,100 and far from Dallas, where owners report $320,700. Odessa is somewhat higher at $223,100, Waco is listed at $221,700, and Killeen reports $215,400. Closer to Longview, Pasadena reports $209,600 and Baytown $197,300. Amarillo comes in beneath both, at $196,900. Further down, Laredo, McAllen, Edinburg and San Angelo run from $193,500 to $187,600. These are owners' estimates, not recorded sales, so small gaps between cities should not be over-read. Lubbock owners report $212,400 and Corpus Christi owners $210,400, so Longview sits just below that band.

On the rental side, Longview renters pay a median of $1,101 monthly, below HUD's Fair Market Rent of $1,232 for the Longview area. That HUD number is a benchmark, not a market median. Odessa renters report $1,315, Dallas renters $1,472 and Amarillo renters $1,092. Waco renters report $1,165 and Lubbock renters $1,182, so Longview rent sits at the lower end of the cities named here. Owners hold 54.7% of homes, more than in Dallas (42.4%) or Waco (49.4%), and fewer than in Laredo (64.1%) or San Angelo (61.2%). Killeen owners hold 49.5% of homes and Lubbock owners 51.2%, and Amarillo reaches 59.7%, so Longview sits in the middle of the cities named. Corpus Christi renters report $1,292 and Pasadena renters $1,213. Odessa owners hold 59.8% of homes, and Amarillo, Laredo and McAllen also exceed Longview's share, while Edinburg, at 53.3%, sits just below it.

In Gregg County, yearly taxes are $2,368 at the median on a county value of $203,400, an effective rate of 1.16%; the county value sits very near Longview's own median, so the bill is a fair guide here, unlike in places where the county median runs well above the city. Only 929 loans were recorded in 2025; their midpoint closing cost was $7,180, and the central cluster lay from $4,834 to $10,145. That is a thin sample next to the larger Texas counties, so treat the cost figures as indicative only. Metro size also matters for a buyer: the Longview metro area has a population of 295,490, and the city itself counts 83,668 residents, a very different scale from the large Texas metros. Because the county rate is a share of value, a buyer can apply the 1.16% rate to a specific price to estimate an annual bill, then check it against the $2,368 median.

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.

Questions about buying a home in Longview

How much is property tax in Longview?

Homeowners in Gregg County pay a median $2,368 a year in property tax, 1.16% of the county median home value of $203,400 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Longview?

Home-purchase mortgages in Gregg County carried median total loan costs of $7,180 in 2025; half of the 929 loans fell between $4,834 and $10,145 (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 Longview?

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 Longview?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Longview ($202,600) equals 15.3 years of the median gross rent ($1,101 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Longview?

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.

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Texas rules that apply in Longview

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Sources

Texas · All states · Federal guides