Houston was labeled a neutral housing market for the sixth consecutive month in September, according to the latest Zillow market heat index.

The housing market heat index uses engagement on Zillow’s active home listings, the share of listings with a price cut and the share of for-sale listings going pending in 21 days to calculate the heat of the housing market both nationally and in individual communities. 

The index assigns a score to every market, with a tally above 70 considered a strong seller’s market; 55-69 is a seller’s market; 44-55 is a neutral market; 28-44 is a buyer’s market; and 27 or less is rated a strong buyer’s market.

Houston’s September score was 47.8, the same as the previous month. Houston peaked as a strong seller’s market in March 2022 and has slowly shifted since then, hovering in neutral for 12 of the last 14 months.

Nationally, the housing market has dipped into neutral territory for the last three months. Before that, it was considered a seller’s or strong seller’s market every month from January 2020 through June 2024, except for brief dips into neutral status in October and November 2022 and November 2023.

The five strongest seller’s markets in September were: Rochester, N.Y.; Syracuse, N.Y.; San Jose, California; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Hartford, Connecticut. 

The five strongest buyer’s markets were: Cape Coral, Florida; McAllen, Texas; New Orleans; Miami; and Deltona, Florida.