Is anyone still selling a house in Texas? About 955 homes close every day
"Nobody is selling right now" is the line we hear most this fall. The closing numbers say otherwise: Texas sold 87,862 homes last quarter, one every 90 seconds. What changed is which homes sell, and why.
By the Sell Well Texas Group team · November 13, 2026
Yes. Texas closed 87,862 home sales in July, August and September 2026. That is about 955 homes a day, or one every 90 seconds, and only 2.4% fewer than the same three months of 2025. Homes are selling. What changed is that buyers now have choices, so the homes that sell are the ones priced and presented right from the first day.
“Nobody is selling right now” is the line we hear most from homeowners this fall. It is easy to see where it comes from: mortgage rates above 7%, national headlines about slow sales, a neighbor’s sign that has been up since summer. Here is what the closing tables actually show.
What you hear, and what the numbers say
| What you hear | What the closing numbers say |
|---|---|
| “Nothing is selling in Texas.” | 87,862 homes closed in the third quarter of 2026, about 955 a day. |
| “Sales have collapsed.” | That is 2.4% below the third quarter of 2025. In July, Texas sales were up 2.2% on the year before. |
| “It’s the worst market in years.” | Texas sold 335,390 homes in 2025. The average for 2011 through 2020 was about 311,800 a year. |
| “Maybe elsewhere, but not in Dallas–Fort Worth.” | 7,329 single-family homes closed in North Texas in August, about 236 a day. For the year through August, 59,813 had sold, 1% ahead of 2025. |
| “Not in Houston.” | 22,357 homes closed in the Houston area in the third quarter, about 243 a day. |
| “Prices are crashing.” | The statewide median was $333,628, down 0.4% from a year ago. Prices rose in 15 of the 26 Texas metro areas. |
| “Every seller is slashing the price.” | In Dallas–Fort Worth, 26.4% of homes for sale in October had a price cut. Roughly three in four had not. |
The same numbers, three ways
By the clock. At 955 closings a day, a Texas home sells about every 90 seconds, around the clock. In the time it takes to read this page, two or three sellers somewhere in the state signed their closing papers.
Against a normal year. In the ten years from 2011 through 2020, Texas sold 3,118,089 homes, an average of about 311,800 a year. Last year’s total was 335,390, about 8% above that average. This year is running a little behind last year, not far behind it.
Against the peak. The market people remember is 2021, when homes sold in a weekend with ten offers. That year was the exception. Nationally, 6.89 million existing homes sold in 2021; the current pace is about 4 million a year. Sales are well below the peak and close to where they were in 2024 and 2025. “Slower than 2021” is true. “Nobody is selling” is not.
So why does it feel like nothing sells?
Because the homes that do not sell are the ones you see. A house that goes under contract in three weeks disappears from the search sites and the sign comes down. A house that is overpriced sits for four months with the sign in the yard, and every neighbor drives past it daily.
Three things did change this year, and they explain the stale listings:
- Homes take longer. North Texas homes averaged 58 days on the market in August. Two months is normal now; two weekends is not.
- Buyers negotiate. In Dallas–Fort Worth, homes sold in August closed at 94.8% of their list price on average. On a $400,000 list price, that is about $20,800 less.
- Fewer buyers are signing each month. Pending sales in North Texas were down 11% in August from a year earlier, and there were 31,072 homes for buyers to choose from.
Put those together and the picture is clear. Buyers are still buying, hundreds a day, but they are comparing your home with several others and they are not paying for wishful pricing.
What the homes that sell have in common
They are priced from closed sales, not from hope. The right price comes from what similar homes nearby actually closed for in the last 90 days, not from what a neighbor is asking and not from an online estimate. A home priced where the market is gets its showings in the first two weeks, when buyer attention is highest. A home priced 5% over the market gets its showings after the first price cut, and by then buyers are asking what is wrong with it.
They look their best online first. Buyers decide which homes to visit from the photos. Decluttering, paint touch-ups, a clean yard and professional photography cost little next to one price reduction. A walk-through before listing tells you which fixes are worth the money and which are not.
They are marketed, not just listed. Putting a home in the MLS is the start. The homes that sell in this market also have a plan for the first 14 days: where the listing is promoted, how showings are scheduled, how feedback from each showing is used, and what happens on day 15 if the offers have not come.
Their sellers negotiate terms, not only price. With rates above 7%, a seller-paid rate buydown or help with closing costs can be worth more to a buyer than the same dollars off the price. We covered the math in should you pay for a buyer’s rate buydown.
What this means if you are thinking of selling
You can sell. About 955 Texas homeowners did it yesterday. The question is not whether the market is open but whether your price and your preparation match it.
Start with two numbers: what your home would likely sell for today, from real comparable sales, and what it costs to sell so you know what you would walk away with. If the home needs work you would rather not do, compare a cash offer with a listing before you decide.
Ask for a free home value estimate. A licensed local agent pulls the closed sales for your street and tells you plainly what the home would bring and how long it is likely to take. No obligation.
Frequently asked questions
Are homes really still selling in Texas with rates above 7%? Yes. 87,862 Texas homes closed in the third quarter of 2026, about 2.4% fewer than a year earlier. Rates slowed the market; they did not stop it.
How long does it take to sell a house in Texas right now? North Texas homes averaged 58 days on the market in August 2026. Houston’s third-quarter report shows 88 days, on a measure that runs through closing. Well-priced homes go faster; overpriced homes take much longer or do not sell.
Will I have to cut my price? Not if the home is priced correctly at the start. About three in four Dallas–Fort Worth listings in October had no price cut. Expect buyers to negotiate: the average sale in August closed at 94.8% of list price.
Should I wait until spring? Spring brings more buyers and more competing listings. A prepared, well-priced home sells in any season. See when is the best time to sell your DFW home.
Sources
- Texas closed sales, median price and metro price changes, third quarter 2026; Houston sales and days on market: Texas Realtors, 2026 Q3 Texas Quarterly Housing Report (summary).
- Texas sales in July 2026: Texas Real Estate Research Center, Texas Housing Insight.
- Texas homes sold in 2025: Texas Realtors, 2025 Texas Real Estate Year in Review.
- Texas homes sold 2011 through 2020: Texas Realtors, A Decade in Texas Real Estate.
- North Texas sales, pending sales, active listings, days on market and sold-to-list ratio, August 2026: MetroTex Association of Realtors, from North Texas Real Estate Information Systems data (report).
- Share of Dallas–Fort Worth listings with a price cut, October 2026: Realtor.com October 2026 housing report.
- National existing-home sales, 2021 and September 2026: National Association of Realtors.
Per-day and per-90-seconds figures are our arithmetic on the quarterly totals (92 days in the quarter). Market statistics describe the past and do not predict what any one home will sell for.