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    Sad News for Singletons

    Here's how long single homebuyers in Houston have to save for a down payment

    Lindsey Wilson
    Feb 22, 2018 | 8:45 am
    Money stacked next to a house
    It's a longer road for single homebuyers.
    Photo by Sawitree Pamee/EyeEm, Getty Images

    It doesn't take a math genius to know that two incomes are better than one, especially when saving up to buy a house. A new report from Zillow confirms that single homebuyers have it really, really rough, with many living in cities where it takes two or three times as long to save for a down payment as it does for a couple. Even worse, less than half of all U.S. homes are affordable for a single homebuyer.

    In Texas, however, the numbers are a little less scary. While Zillow claims that the average single homebuyers would need to save for 11 years to a reach a 20 percent down payment on a typical U.S. home, in Houston the number is a slightly better 8.8. To reach this estimate, the real estate website combined home values and income data from the Census and assumed that 10 percent of the person's or couple's income was being saved every year.

    So if singles in Houston are having to wait nearly a decade to become homebuyers, how long does it take couples? Only four years. That's mainly because their combined median income ($85,000) is more than twice that of singles ($39,000), which also sets them up to afford a higher percentage of available housing stock: 91 percent versus 58 percent. So a couple in Houston could, at maximum, afford a home priced at $438,272. A single homebuyer is limited to $197,571 or less.

    The silver lining here is that Houstonians have it easier than both Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin residents, no matter their marital status. In Austin, single homebuyers are right in line with the U.S. average at 11.1 years, while couples actually have to wait a little longer than the nation as a whole: 5.1 years. Austin couples have a much higher combined median income ($99,000 versus $45,600) and can afford 87 percent of the homes on the market. Singles are only able to afford 42 percent, or the homes priced at $233,188 or less.

    Single homebuyers in Dallas-Fort Worth have to wait 9.6 years, while couples only scrimp and save for 4.4 years. The median income for DFW couples is $87,800, versus $40,000 for singles, and together they can afford 90 percent of the homes currently for-sale. Singles, meanwhile, are stuck with homes priced at $205,047 or less, or 54 percent of the available housing stock.

    Aspiring San Antonio homebuyers share space with Houston on the fast track to Texas homeownership. San Antonio gives couples a four-year wait time, while singles only need to save for 8.4 years. The majority of San Antonio homes are affordable for couples (91 percent), but dip a little more for single San Antonians (63 percent). Alamo City's median income is low for Texas, however, with couples making $76,000 (only $36,300 for singles).

    No matter how disappointing it might look for Texans, at least it's way better than the situation in California. In San Jose, it can take singles 30 years to save for a down payment — typically the life of a home loan itself. San Francisco and Los Angeles are only marginally better, at 27.8 and 26.8 years.

    Single and itching to sign the mortgage papers now? Go house-hunting in Indianapolis, which only demands 7.5 years of saving time from singles, or Detroit and Cleveland, which both clock in at eight years.

    zillowreports
    news/real-estate

    REAL ESTATE NEWS

    More Houston homeowners are becoming 'accidental landlords,' study finds

    Brandon Watson
    Mar 18, 2026 | 10:30 am
    For Lease Real Estate Sign Hangs in Front Yard of House
    Getty Images
    An increasing number of San Antonio homeowners are bcoming "accidental landlords"

    Houston homeowners unable to sell their properties are increasingly becoming “accidental landlords,” according to Zillow. The real estate marketplace’s newest analysis says that 4.2 percent of its local for-sale listings recently converted to rentals, making the Bayou City the second-worst U.S. city for the market trend.

    Only Denver (4.9 percent) ranks higher, with Austin (4.1 percent) and San Antonio (3.9 percent) not far behind. Seven of the top 10 metros are in Texas or Florida.

    Zillow senior economist Kara Ng says today's dynamic is driven by choice rather than panic. Homeowners aren't being forced to sell; they're simply unwilling to accept what the market will actually pay.

    "As the market continues to rebalance, sellers are facing a different reality than they did a few years ago," Ng said in a statement. "Bargaining power is tilting toward buyers, and homes are taking longer to sell, making renting out a property one way to buy time rather than compete aggressively on price. After all, today's sellers are rarely forced to sell, and it appears they are often unwilling to budge off of what their heart says their home is worth."

    Nationally, the trend is nearing a record high. 2.3 percent of all Zillow rental listings were recently for-sale properties, second only to November 2022, when mortgage rates had doubled in a single year, and sellers were scrambling. That spike was shock-driven, but now stubbornness is likely fueling the shift.

    Single-family homes make up the largest share of accidental landlord properties, but condos are seeing the fastest rise. Metros with the hottest buyer competition, including Boston, New York City, and Providence, Rhode Island, have the lowest accidental landlord rates.

    For both local buyers and sellers, Goldilocks thinking is increasingly the norm. Sellers, especially those who bought during the COVID-19 boom, are holding their asking price firm to avoid taking a loss. Buyers, for their part, are refusing to compromise on concessions and repairs.

    Meanwhile, the city's rental market keeps getting larger. In 2025, rental listings website Point2Homes placed the Houston area among the top 10 U.S. metros building the most new homes for rent.

    home marketrentinghome ownershipzillowrankingsreal estate
    news/real-estate

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