Trends
Among over 600 home features and design aspects, exposed beams were the most popular — home listings featuring the element saw 19.7% more engagement on Zillow.com.
Boomers made up 42% of all homebuyers during the period from July 2024 to June 2025, unchanged from the same time a year prior. Millennials lost market share, making up 26% of buyers, down 3% year over year.
Redfin noted that millennials are currently the largest generation, making the rate of boomer homeownership even more outsized in comparison.
In Houston, renters spend a median 22.7% of their income on housing — anything less than 30% is considered affordable — allowing flexibility to save for a down payment.
The 2026 National Housing Supply Summit was held in Washington, D.C., on March 18.
After five years of worsening, housing affordability has finally started to improve, according to a new Redfin study.
Transactions increased most in Brookshire, where sales were up 124.6% year over year and had an average sales price of $311,463.
HAR tracked the top 10 ZIP codes with the greatest year-over-year increases in home sales and found that 77484 — Waller — was the hottest in the entire Houston metro area.
The second-hottest community was Waller, which had previously been the hottest Houston community for three quarters in a row.
Nationwide, rents increased 1.58% from 2024 to 2025 while prices stayed flat. In Texas, rents increased 2.56% during the same time period while prices dipped 4.03%.
Bold, geometric designs like chevrons, sunbursts, zigzags and stepped shapes are making a huge comeback as of late — and Houzz said that will continue into 2026.
At the same time, the average age of the first-time buyer hit an all-time high of 40, according to the 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.
At the top of the list? WaterSense fixtures — the plumbing solution, which claims to reduce water use by more than 20%, increased in popularity by 289.6%.
The city boasts the lowest travel costs in the country with relatively low hassle involved — plus ranked No. 6 for local attractions and No. 7 for warm-weather activities.
Waller’s average home price of $335,255 was down 13% annually and was well below the area average of $421,655, HAR said.
For its inaugural Texas Homebuying Experience Report, the association surveyed Texas Realtors about their experiences with buyer clients during the first six months of the year.
