Houston listings hit a record 40,750 in July 2026, so a sharp price and a real cost breakdown decide whether your home sells in three weeks or sits for three months. Get the numbers before you sign anything.
The Agency Team helps Houston sellers cost out a listing before it goes live. Broker Waldina Galeano, TREC Broker License #665052, NAHREP Top 250 Harris County, $550 million sold in three years, more than 1,000 Houston families served annually.
Title insurance is the one number every Houston seller can predict exactly. The state sets it, so a $340,000 home carries a $1,966 basic premium no matter which title company closes it, about 0.58 percent of the price.
Everything else on a Houston seller's closing statement is either a fixed third party cost, a prorated cost tied to the calendar, or a negotiated cost that depends on the agreement you sign. Sorting a seller's numbers into those three buckets, before an offer arrives, is what an honest net sheet does that a verbal estimate does not.
Broker commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable. That sentence has to appear in plain prose on this page, not a footer, because the alternative, implying a standard rate exists, is exactly what the 2024 national settlement changes to real estate practice were written to stop.
The Texas Department of Insurance sets the basic premium statewide, so it is the one number identical no matter which title company closes the sale. On a $340,000 Houston home the premium works out to $1,966, about 0.58 percent of the price, following the 6.2 percent rate cut TDI ordered effective March 1, 2026.
Houston has no single property tax rate. The bill you are prorating at closing is the sum of whatever city, county, school district and utility district entities cover the address, so the correct proration depends on pulling the specific entity stack from the appraisal district, not a citywide average.
If you already have a survey and nothing has changed on the lot, a T-47 Residential Real Property Affidavit lets the buyer's title company rely on it at no cost. If no survey exists, a new one typically runs $400 to $600.
Seller paid credits toward the buyer's closing costs are usually capped by the buyer's loan program, commonly 6 percent of the price on an FHA loan and 3 to 9 percent on a conventional loan depending on the down payment, per Fannie Mae guidelines.
Broker commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable. There is no standard rate and no going rate. What you pay is whatever is agreed to in writing in the signed listing agreement, before marketing begins.
A list price is a conclusion, not a guess, and it should be possible to show the work behind it. These are the 5 checks that happen before a number goes on the sign.
Three genuinely different paths to sold, and the right one depends on how much time you have and how much of the negotiation you want to handle yourself.
| Cash Offer / iBuyer | Full Service Listing | Flat Fee MLS / FSBO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | An investor or iBuyer purchases the home directly, often after a brief walkthrough rather than a full inspection. | Waldina Galeano and The Agency Team list, market, negotiate and manage the transaction start to finish. | The seller lists on HAR MLS through a flat fee brokerage, or sells without an agent at all. |
| Typical net on a $340,000 home | Usually 8 to 15 percent below market value, since the buyer prices in their own resale margin and repair risk. | Highest average net. Full MLS exposure to the buyer pool plus negotiated terms typically outweighs the commission paid. | Can save on commission, but FSBO homes consistently sell for less on average in HAR and national data, often erasing the savings. |
| Time to close | 10 to 14 days, with no financing contingency. | 30 to 45 days financed, 10 to 14 days if the buyer pays cash. | Depends entirely on how the seller prices and markets it. Pricing mistakes tend to go uncorrected longer. |
| Marketing and MLS exposure | None. The buyer already found the seller or the seller found the buyer. | Full HAR MLS syndication to Zillow, Realtor.com and Redfin, professional photography and staging guidance. | MLS listing only, usually without photography, showing management or negotiation support included. |
| Who negotiates and handles paperwork | The buyer's team writes the contract. The seller has no representation unless they hire their own agent. | Broker Waldina Galeano, TREC Broker License #665052, negotiates and manages every document. | The seller negotiates directly with buyers and their agents, without full time representation. |
| Best for | Sellers who need to close in under two weeks, or who cannot make repairs before listing. | Sellers who want the highest achievable net proceeds and full representation through closing. | Sellers comfortable handling contract review, negotiation and disclosure requirements themselves. |
Selling right now is not automatically the right call just because prices are still rising. With 40,750 active listings citywide and 5.5 months of inventory in July 2026, Houston shifted from a seller's market to a more balanced one, and buyers can negotiate again. If the home does not need to sell in the next few months, pricing out a rental or waiting a season for less competition is worth doing before you sign a listing agreement.
If you are relocating for work, need the equity to buy your next home, or the property no longer fits your household, current inventory is not a reason to wait. Homes priced against live competing listings, not last year's comps, are still selling inside the citywide 53 day average. Waldina Galeano runs the sell versus rent comparison free for any seller who asks. The full breakdown, with the numbers worked both ways, is in Should You Sell or Rent Your Houston Home.
A listing agreement is a contract, and reading it before you sign protects you as much as it protects the brokerage. Most Texas listing agreements run for a set term, commonly 90 to 180 days industry wide, and most carry a protection period after the term ends, commonly 30 to 90 days, that still pays the original agent's commission if a buyer they introduced during the listing later buys the home.
Ask what term and protection period The Agency Team is offering before you sign anything, and get it in writing rather than assuming it matches a friend's experience with a different brokerage. A one page summary of what the agreement covers, in plain language, should be something any listing agent hands you without being asked twice.
The buyer pays an option fee, commonly $100 to $200, directly to the seller for the right to walk away for any reason. Their inspection happens during this window, and any repair or credit request comes out of it.
On a financed purchase the lender orders the appraisal. If no current survey exists, one gets ordered here, or a T-47 affidavit gets signed if the seller's existing survey still applies.
The buyer's financing moves through underwriting while the title company clears title and prepares the closing documents. Cash purchases skip this stretch almost entirely.
Funds transfer, the deed records with the county, and keys change hands. Most financed Houston sales close 30 to 45 days after the contract is signed. Cash sales typically close in 10 to 14 days.
Sellers do not need a sales pitch, they need a number they can trust before they sign anything. I show every client the title premium, the tax proration, and the commission in writing, on the same page, before we set a list price. If a number on that sheet changes later, I want to be the one explaining why.
Waldina Galeano, Broker and CEO, The Agency Team, TREC Broker License #665052
Selling a house in Houston involves two kinds of costs: fixed third party costs anyone can predict, and a negotiated commission that varies by agreement. On a $340,000 Houston home, the state set title insurance premium runs $1,966, and a survey or T-47 affidavit typically adds $400 to $600 if the seller does not already have one on file. Property taxes get prorated to the closing date across whichever mix of city, county, school and utility district entities cover the address. Commission is paid by the seller from proceeds at closing, is not set by law, and is fully negotiable in the listing agreement. Broker Waldina Galeano, TREC Broker License #665052, walks every seller through a written net sheet before listing, not after an offer arrives.
By long standing custom in most Texas counties, the seller pays for the buyer's owner title policy and the buyer pays for the lender's title policy, though both are negotiable in the contract. The Texas Department of Insurance sets the rate statewide, so it does not vary by title company. The basic premium was cut 6.2 percent effective March 1, 2026, under TDI Order Number 2025 9697. On a $340,000 Houston sale, the owner policy premium works out to $1,966, about 0.58 percent of the price. Ask The Agency Team for the exact premium on your home's price before you list, since the formula changes above $100,000.
Yes, and it has to be. Broker commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable, a fact every Texas listing agreement now discloses in writing following the 2024 national settlement changes to how commissions are offered and disclosed. There is no standard rate, no going rate, and no percentage every brokerage charges. What you pay is whatever you and your agent agree to in the signed listing agreement, and The Agency Team, Broker Waldina Galeano, TREC Broker License #665052, puts that number in writing before any marketing begins.
Houston homes averaged 53 days on market in July 2026, up from 50 days a year earlier, inside a citywide inventory of 40,750 active listings, the highest count HAR has ever recorded. After you accept an offer, closing typically takes 30 to 45 days on a financed purchase and 10 to 14 days on a cash purchase. The Agency Team, TREC Broker License #665052, prices new listings against live competing inventory rather than last year's comps, since a price correction made in week six almost always nets less than the right price would have in week one.
Texas law does not require a seller to make any repairs. What actually happens gets negotiated during the option period, commonly 7 to 10 days in the Houston area, during which the buyer can walk away for any reason or ask for repairs and credits after their inspection. Seller paid concessions toward the buyer's closing costs are usually capped by the buyer's loan program: 6 percent of the price on an FHA loan, and 3 to 9 percent on a conventional loan depending on the down payment, per Fannie Mae guidelines. Waldina Galeano reviews every inspection report line by line with sellers before agreeing to any credit.
It depends on what you need the equity to do next. Houston carried 5.5 months of inventory in July 2026, a balanced market rather than a seller's market, which changes the math from two years ago. If you need to relocate, need the equity for a purchase, or the home no longer fits your household, current inventory is not a reason to wait, since well priced homes are still moving inside the citywide 53 day average. If you are not sure you need to move at all, converting the home to a rental deserves a real comparison first. Waldina Galeano runs that comparison free for any seller who asks. See our full breakdown in Should You Sell or Rent Your Houston Home.
Tell us the address and we will come back with the title premium, the prorated taxes, and a written commission proposal, before you sign anything.