New-home sales across Texas fell 6.9% in August, to 5,658 from 6,080 in July, even as builders moved houses off the market faster for a fourth straight month, according to the HomesUSA.com New Home Sales Report released Sept. 21.
Statewide days on market fell to 109 in August from 112 in July, a fourth consecutive monthly improvement. That figure is still slower than a year ago, when new homes in Texas sold in 107 days.
Nearly every other measure in the report pointed the other way. Sales were down 3.1% from the 5,841 recorded in August 2025. Pending sales, the better read on what closes in the months ahead, fell 4.9% for the month to 5,880 and were down 10.7% from 6,582 a year earlier. Active listings edged up 0.6% to 37,031 and were 2.2% above August 2025.
Prices held. The average new-home price in Texas was $424,371 in August, essentially unchanged from $424,912 in July and down 1.0% from $428,826 a year earlier. Buyers also paid closer to the asking price than they did in July or a year ago: the statewide sales-to-list ratio was 97.74%, up from 97.34% in July and 96.87% in August 2025.
“The continued decline in Days on Market is consistent with my expectations for a seasonal drop in both sales and pending sales that show demand is also following the expected seasonal retreat,” said Ben Caballero, chief executive of HomesUSA.com. “It is the most difficult season of the year for builders who must manage inventory and pricing carefully as the market moves into the fall.”
Dallas-Fort Worth is the slowest market and the priciest
Dallas-Fort Worth led Texas in volume with 1,891 new-home sales in August, down from 1,963 in July, and it remains the state’s most expensive major market at an average price of $469,398, up slightly from $467,785. It is also the slowest: new homes there took 132 days to sell, down from 139 in July but well above the statewide figure.
The metro added the most inventory of any Texas market, with active listings rising to 8,729 from 8,439, and it posted the largest decline in pending sales, to 2,202 from 2,315. Its sales-to-list ratio was essentially unchanged at 97.57%, from 97.58%.
Houston recorded the largest sales drop in the state, to 1,862 from 2,121 in July, but it also showed the strongest pricing improvement: the average price rose to $414,275 from $409,552, and the sales-to-list ratio jumped to 97.38% from 96.52%, the biggest monthly gain among the four major markets. Houston carries by far the most standing inventory, with 16,133 active listings β more than 43% of the statewide total β and homes there sold in 97 days, essentially unchanged from July.
Austin was the outlier on price. New-home sales slipped to 782 from 797, pending sales fell to 1,031 from 1,090, and the average price dropped to $466,073 from $484,168 β a decline of about 3.7% in a single month. Austin homes sold in 101 days, down from 106, and its sales-to-list ratio was essentially unchanged at 97.82%.
San Antonio remains the most affordable of the four, with an average new-home price of $339,473, down from $343,518. Sales fell to 1,124 from 1,200 and pending sales to 1,032 from 1,114, while active listings declined to 6,094 from 6,287 β the only major Texas market where inventory shrank. San Antonio also posted the state’s highest sales-to-list ratio at 98.57%, up from 98.11%.
What builders are working against
Caballero framed the mix of faster sales and thinner demand as a builder’s problem rather than a buyer’s. “The encouraging signs for builders are that overall average prices remain remarkably stable, and buyers continue to pay close to asking price,” he said. “Active listings also remain elevated, giving consumers more choices while builders must work harder for each sale. But the expected rise in mortgage rates is going to add to the headwinds.”
That pressure is visible nationally as well. Builder sentiment fell to a one-year low this month, with two-thirds of builders reporting that they are using sales incentives β the discounts, rate buydowns and closing-cost credits that help explain why Texas prices have stayed flat while volume has not.
Texas has been tilting toward buyers across the wider housing market for months. RealtyWire reported in July that sellers outnumbered buyers in every major Texas metro, a gap that August’s listing counts do nothing to close.
One caveat applies to every number above: HomesUSA.com builds the report from listings reported to the Realtor-association multiple listing services covering North Texas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, and calculates each metric as a three-month moving average to smooth out seasonal noise. The figures therefore describe the trend through August rather than a single month’s raw transactions, and they cover only the new-home listings reported to those services.
