When Is the Best Time to Sell a House in Texas?

The month you pick to list your Texas home for sale can make a surprising difference in how much you make and how fast it sells. How surprising? Based on historical sales data, if you list your $300,000 Laredo home in June, you could sell it for nearly $21,000 more than the yearly average.

This post gives you a closer look at the best time to sell, market trends you need to know about, and insider tips to help you sell your Texas home faster and for more money.

Texas housing trends

In recent years, Texas homes have been selling fast year-round. The current average days on market (DOM) — from listing to signed contract — for the state is around 34 days.

The “months of inventory” for Texas is at 1.1, meaning the number of months it would take for currently-listed homes to sell given the sales pace the state is experiencing.

If an area has more months’ supply, six, for example, the inventory is typically considered more balanced and associated with moderate price appreciation. A lower number of months will typically push prices up more rapidly, which is what Texas has been seeing — good for sellers, not so good for buyers.

The median home price for the Lone Star State is about $300,000, up 15.7% from the prior year, according to the Texas Real Estate Research Center.

These trends reveal that the Texas sellers’ market is still white-hot, and you can get great value for your home if you sell at the optimal time.

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When is the best time to sell a house in Texas?

The best time to sell a house in Texas largely depends on your selling objectives. There may be a better month to sell fast and a month for the best time to sell for a higher price.

Another factor in deciding the best time to sell a house in Texas is your home’s location.

Location, Location, Location! This real estate truism provides an essential kernel of wisdom; the best time to sell your house depends on what region of Texas you call home. Your neighborhood is unique, so some factors are unique to your home and the surrounding community.

For instance, the Dallas Fort-Worth (DFW) metro area leads the nation in population growth. As explained by top real estate agent Jason Danford with the Brent Germany Team, continued growth in his area of the DFW metro area “created a year-round selling season,” but adds that the best month is “in the spring,” like March.

Population growth controls smaller markets as well. Corpus Christi’s population is about 327,000 and is incredibly small compared to the DFW metro area’s population of a staggering 7.6 million people.

Don’t let Corpus Christi’s size fool you. Since COVID-19, there have been “really good figures for people moving to the area,” explained Corpus Christi top real estate agent Kim Erwin, who works with over 65% more single-family homes than the average area agent.

To give you a better idea, we’ve looked at historical real estate transaction data from 15 cities of different sizes that provide an overview of what might be the best times to sell your Texas home and the possible benefits. Your selling results will vary depending on what’s happening in your market and other home-selling variables.

5 large cities in Texas

5 mid-sized cities in Texas

5 smaller cities or towns in Texas

All charts based on historical home sales data, 2014-2021

Don’t see your city or town listed? Enter your city into our free online Best Time To Sell Calculator.

3 Texas selling trends

There are three significant selling trends in Texas:

• People trying to sell under the “bubble”
• Stress on existing inventory
• Cash offers

Research economists generally agree that they do not see a “housing bubble” on the horizon — a significant spike in home prices unrelated to core economic factors such as labor markets, income, or wealth — like there was in the early 2000s that could cause a real estate crisis.

However, wary sellers may be afraid of making a wrong financial decision, so they sell. Likely, what is happening is that Texas home prices are normalizing and catching up with nationwide housing prices. Finally, the conditions are different now than they were in 2008.

In ’08, deficient lending standards and practices played a role in a real estate crash. “The difference between the crash [and] the current climate is related to supply and demand,” Danford says, “you have a perfect storm with supply shortages impacting new construction, and that has put a stress on the existing home market.”

Stress on the existing inventory seems to be a common theme in areas of Texas. “The inventory is so slim that we’re overselling homes,” explains Erwin. The unifying trend of Texas seems to be high demand and low inventory.

Another exciting trend in the market is the increase in cash offers for homes. “I think a lot of people would be shocked at the amount of cash in the marketplace,” Danford says.

Cash buyers could be individuals who sold their homes and are looking for a new place to live. Or the offers could be from a “mix” of real estate investors and iBuyers (instant buyers), causing a cash offer influx in the market.

The list of influencing factors includes seasonal trends that impact the best time to sell a house in Texas:

1. There is a retiree rush and subsequent growth of 55+ communities.
2. People are scooping up second homes for investments or early retirement pads, especially in warm climates and coastal regions.
3. School choice somewhat influences the market. The increased presence of private and charter schools allows people to move where they want with the freedom to send their kids to a school of choice.
4. Nationwide, residents (and especially Californians) who like the weather, freedom, lower cost of living, and lack of state income tax are flocking to Texas. The trend is that more people move into Texas than move out.

Connect With a Top Agent to Sell Your Texas Home

It takes just two minutes to match clients with the best real estate agents, who will contact you and guide you through the process. To connect with an agent, simply tell us a little bit about your property (single-family, condo, townhouse, mobile home, commercial, or vacant lot) and how soon you’re looking to sell.

Our data shows the top 5% of agents across the U.S. help clients sell their home for as much as 10% more than the average real estate agent.

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Insider tips to help sell your Texas home

No matter what time of year you decide to sell, or need to sell, here are some tips from our expert agents that can help you with a fast sale or get top dollar for your home:

• Add a backyard fire pit and market the home’s outdoor space, especially after COVID lockdown fatigue.
• Even if you don’t have one now, stage a home office area or a space that can become a home office.
• In Texas, outdoor grilling is revered only behind God, guns, and football.

Answers to other Texas home-selling questions

Are homes in Texas appreciating faster or slower than in other states?

By the fourth quarter of 2021, U.S. homes appreciated 17.54% year-over-year. According to a 2022 Texas A&M housing report, Texas homes appreciated 19.5% year-over-year, making Texas the 17th fastest in the nation.

Now might be an excellent time to see what your home might be worth using HomeLight’s Home Value Estimator. Our free tool uses transaction data from multiple sources to create a real-time ballpark value estimate based on current market trends.

What if I need a fast sale and closing in Texas?

If you’re facing a life change that requires a fast home sale or don’t have the time or money to make needed repairs, consider requesting an all-cash offer using HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform. Simple Sale provides cash offers for homes in almost any condition in Texas. You can skip the repairs and showings and close in as few as 10 days. Complete a short questionnaire and receive a no-obligation cash offer within 48 hours.

What is the biggest mistake sellers make when selling a home in Texas? 

One of the biggest mistakes sellers make when selling a home in Texas is not selecting the right agent. Experience and knowledge matter when selling a home. “There’s a lot of factors that go into selling a house,” says Danford. “Some people choose the highest offer, and the highest offer isn’t always the best offer.”

For example, an unscrupulous buyer may make a high offer and drive away competing buyers. Then, when the house doesn’t sell, that same shady buyer will make a much lower offer hoping that the seller is desperate enough to take the low-ball offer.

HomeLight’s free Agent Match tool can connect you with some of the highest-performing, experienced agents in your market.

Find a top agent in Texas for a successful home sale

Texas is a growing state. As the state grows, so does the demand for housing. This can put home sellers in the driver’s seat if you’re considering entering the real estate highway.

In summary, here are a few things to consider about the timing of your home sale:

• Housing inventory is low in Texas, and demand is high
• Cash offers are out there for Texas home sellers
• Weather, freedoms, and affordable housing attract a diverse buyer pool to Texas
• Outdoor areas are vitally essential amenities for successfully selling your Texas home
• Sellers might want to strike while the market iron is hot in Texas
• Certain listing months can give you a better selling price or a faster sale
• Use HomeLight’s free Best Time To Sell Calculator to see your city’s optimal times

Now you know the best times to sell your Texas home. One more question you might ask is, what’s the best way to sell? Our data shows that the top 5% of real estate agents across the U.S. sell homes faster and for as much as 10% more than the average agent.

To help you determine the best time to sell a home in Texas faster and for more money, partner with a top agent in your area using HomeLight’s free Agent Match platform. Our matching service tool analyzes over 27 million transactions and thousands of reviews to determine which agent is best for you based on your needs.

Header Image Source: (Thomas Park / Unsplash)