Houston Market Data — May 2026 | Weeks 18 through 22

The market data says buyers are looking. The economy says everyone is thinking twice. Here is what I actually think.

Let me tell you what nobody in real estate wants to say out loud right now.

I filled up my car last week. Nearly five dollars a gallon. I felt it. You felt it. The woman relocating from Chicago with two kids and a job offer in the Energy Corridor is feeling it too.

The economy is uncertain right now in a way that is hard to fully articulate but very easy to feel in your daily life. Gas prices. Grocery prices. Interest rates that are still significantly higher than they were three years ago. A job market that looks stable on paper but feels less certain than it did. Tariff anxiety bleeding into everything from new construction costs to moving expenses.

So when someone asks me — Crystal, should I buy a home in Houston right now — I am going to give you the answer I would give my best friend sitting across from me at a table. Not the answer that gets me a commission check.

Here is the honest answer.

This analysis covers HAR weekly activity data from May 4 through June 1 2026 — five full weeks of Houston market activity.

First — What the Houston Market Is Actually Telling Us Right Now

I have been pulling HAR weekly activity snapshots for the entire month of May 2026 and the story they tell is consistent across all five weeks.

Houston buyers are showing up. They are not signing contracts.

Showings — the number of times buyers toured homes — were up every single week in May compared to the same period last year. Up 8.4 percent. Up 8.8 percent. Up 10.8 percent. Up 7.1 percent. Up 5.3 percent. Week after week people are walking through homes.

But pending listings — the number of buyers who actually went under contract — were down significantly in most weeks. Down 25.2 percent in week 18. Down 22.9 percent in week 20. Down 15.7 percent in week 21. Down 15.4 percent in week 22.

People are looking. People are not buying.

That tells me two things. Demand exists — there are real buyers in this market who want to own a home in Houston. And hesitation is high — something is keeping most of them from pulling the trigger.

That something is the economy. And I am not going to pretend otherwise.

What This Market Means for a Buyer Who Is Ready

Here is the other side of those numbers that nobody is talking about.

If you are a buyer who is actually ready — financially stable, life stable, sure about Houston, sure about the neighborhood — this market is quietly favorable for you right now.

Less competition on contracts means more negotiating power. A seller whose home has been sitting for thirty days is a more motivated seller than one who just listed yesterday. The buyers who are circling but not committing are not your competition. They are just noise.

New listings are essentially flat — there is inventory available. Off market listings have ticked up in some weeks — meaning some sellers are pulling homes that are not moving, which cleans up the market and leaves the serious sellers.

And showings being up means the market is active. This is not a dead market. It is a cautious one.

For a buyer who is certain — cautious markets are often the best time to buy. You just have to actually be certain.

So Should You Buy Right Now — Here Is My Honest Framework

I am going to give you the three questions I ask every buyer I work with right now. Not the three questions the industry tells me to ask. The three questions I would ask myself.

One — Are you stable stable?

Not kind of stable. Not mostly stable. Stable stable.

Your job is secure. Your income is not dependent on an industry that is currently in flux. You are not mid career change, mid relationship change, mid anything significant. Your life has enough roots right now that a thirty year commitment to a specific zip code makes sense.

If your answer is hesitant — wait. Not forever. Just until the answer is clear.

Two — Are you sure sure?

Have you been to Houston. Have you driven the neighborhoods at different times of day. Do you know which school district you want and have you verified the specific boundary line for the specific street you are considering. Have you thought about the commute on a Tuesday morning not just a Sunday afternoon when you toured.

Are you buying because you chose Houston or because your company gave you a deadline and you felt pressure to decide.

There is a difference. One leads to a home you grow into. The other leads to regret and a for sale sign eighteen months later.

Three — Is the house right?

Not two out of three. All three.

Location — does it put you where you actually want to be. Not close to where you want to be. Where you want to be.

Condition — does it need work you are prepared to do or are you buying a project because the price was attractive and convincing yourself you will get to it.

Price — does it make sense for what the market is actually doing right now. Not what the seller thinks it is worth. What comps support.

If all three are yes — buy. I do not care what the interest rate is. You can refinance a rate. You cannot un-buy the wrong house in the wrong location at the wrong time in your life.

If even one of them is no — wait. Keep looking. The right house in the right location at the right price is worth waiting for.

A Note for Solo Buyers

This one is specifically for the woman — or man — buying alone right now.

If you are a solo buyer the stakes are different. One income. One job. One person carrying the entire mortgage if something goes sideways.

Buy if your job is stable. Buy if your industry is stable — not just your specific job but the broader field you work in. Buy if you have options — meaning if your employer went away tomorrow you could find another one in Houston within a reasonable timeline.

And make sure you have reserves. Not just enough for the down payment and closing costs. Enough to cover three to six months of mortgage payments if something unexpected happens. Because unexpected things happen. Houston alone has taught me that more than once.

If all of those boxes are checked — buy. Homeownership as a solo person is one of the most powerful financial decisions you can make. You are building equity for yourself instead of someone else’s retirement account every month you pay rent.

If those boxes are not all checked — keep building toward them. The market will still be here when you are ready.

What About Couples

I am going to say something that no real estate agent is supposed to say.

If things are not solid at home — do not buy a house right now.

A house does not fix a shaky foundation. A beautiful new construction home in Katy with a three car garage does not resolve the conversations you have been avoiding. It just gives you a more expensive backdrop for having them.

Buy a house when you are choosing it together with a shared vision of the life you are building. Not when you are hoping the house will give you something to focus on together.

I am not your therapist. But I have been in this business long enough to know that the happiest buyers are the ones who were already solid before they walked through the first door.

The Bottom Line

The Houston market right now is showing us something interesting. Buyers are engaged. Buyers are not committing. And in a world where gas is close to five dollars, grocery prices are stubborn, interest rates are still elevated, and everyone is watching the economic news with one eye — that makes complete sense.

This is not the market for buying because you feel like you should. This is not the market for buying because rates might go up and you are scared of missing something. This is not the market for buying because your lease is up and it feels like the logical next step.

This is the market for buying when you are stable stable and sure sure and the house is right.

If that is you — I would love to help you find it.

And if you are not ready to buy but you need a place to land while you get there — I can help with that too. Finding the right rental in the right neighborhood while you get settled in Houston is part of the picture I help clients evaluate. I would rather help you make the right move than the fast one.

Crystal Plummer Spruill is a licensed real estate agent serving Katy, Richmond, Fulshear, Sugar Land, and the greater Houston TX area. Brokered by Real Broker LLC. TREC #0688471. Data sourced from HAR.com Weekly Activity Snapshots Weeks 18 through 22 2026 in cooperation with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

Photo credit: Geeta Photography