spring homebuying season

The best time to sell a house in Houston is coming in April, experts say

The best window for Houstonians to sell their home is coming up on April 12.

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Houstonans that are considering selling their home have the perfect opportunity coming up in April, according to a new housing report from Realtor.com.

The real estate experts said the week of April 12-18 will offer sellers the best combination of strong and stable housing prices, buyer interest, and a competitive market.

Based on historical market data, homes listings in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro are expected to receive 17.5 percent more views during the week of April 12 compared to the average week, and homes may spend seven fewer days on the market compared to the average. This surge in demand will also affect housing prices in the area. Homes put on the market during this window are expected to list for $19,000 higher than what they were listed at the start of the year, or 5.4 percent more.

"After years of being squeezed by limited inventory and high rates, the 2026 housing market is starting to feel more approachable for those who have been sidelined," said Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale.

In general, experts predict homebuyers will start "re-engaging" with the housing market now that mortgage rates stabilized in late 2025. National commercial banker U.S. Bank said the current 30-year fixed mortgage rate is roughly 6.38 percent.

"For sellers, the mid-April window represents an opportunity to enter a market that feels more within reach for buyers while benefiting from a seasonal advantage in terms of pricing and competition," Hale said.

Residential homes in the Houston area had a median price of $322,078 in February, the Houston Association of Realtors said in its latest report, and prices are down 0.9 percent year-over-year.

Two more Texas metros – Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth – are expected to follow Houston with the same April 12 window as the best time for residents to sell their homes. In San Antonio, the best time for owners to sell their homes will begin on April 19.

Senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones warned some home sellers in Southern metros might "face softer conditions" due to an abundance of inventory.

"In those metros, optimizing timing to this early spring window is even more critical to differentiate a property from the growing competition," she said.

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REAL ESTATE NEWS

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

For Lease Real Estate Sign Hangs in Front Yard of House

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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.

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