Texas cities top list of 'most motivated' housing markets

🏡 Good morning. Texas sellers are cutting prices, cash buyers are losing ground, and buyers are gaining leverage. Here’s what’s moving the market.

Today's newsletter is 700 words — a 2.5-minute read. Let’s dive in…

1. Cash buyers lose their pandemic-era edge

Cash purchases made up 31.4% of home sales in the first four months of 2026, down from 32.3% a year earlier, according to Realtor.com. Cash transactions fell 11.2%, compared with an 8.5% decline in total sales, while the median sale price rose just 0.2% year over year.

Austin's cash share climbed 2.7 percentage points to 35.2%, ranking third nationally for growth, while Dallas rose 2.3 points and Houston 1.9 points. Houston and San Antonio also remained among the metros with the highest overall cash shares, at 38.8% and 38.7%, respectively.

Cash remained especially common at the extremes of the market, accounting for more than two-thirds of purchases below $100,000 and more than 40% of homes priced above $1 million.

2. Home prices edge up as Texas leads declines

Home prices rose just 0.27% in July, essentially flat from June's 0.28% gain. Prices were up 3.4% year over year, but high mortgage rates and an imbalance of sellers over buyers are keeping growth in check, according to a Redfin report.

Texas markets were among the nation's weakest. San Antonio posted the largest annual decline at 2.1%, followed by Fort Worth (-1.3%), Dallas (-1%), and Austin (-1%). Fort Worth and Austin also recorded monthly declines of 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively.

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3. Catch up quick

🏡 Pending home sales fall 2.3% in July. (NAR)

⚖️ Texas real estate influencer Tie Lasater settles case over misleading investors. (HoustonChronicle)

🥇 Texas cities dominate America's best housing markets. (WalletHub)

🚫 Paxton blocks 116 more Texas cities from raising property taxes. (USAToday)

🪖 43% of military-affiliated buyers plan to purchase a home within six months. (VeteransUnited)

4. Eighth Circuit upholds $876M Sitzer/Burnett settlements

On Wednesday, a three-judge Eighth Circuit panel upheld more than $876 Million in Sitzer/Burnett settlements involving NAR and major brokerages, rejecting arguments raised by seven appellants.

The decision keeps in place the industrywide changes to commissions and buyer agreements that followed a 2023 jury verdict awarding nearly $1.8 billion to home-seller plaintiffs, before the defendants settled instead.

NAR's portion totals $418 million, with additional agreements involving Anywhere Real Estate, RE/MAX, HomeServices of America, and Keller Williams. Parties have two weeks from Aug. 19 to seek a rehearing or rehearing en banc.

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$400K home.
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☞ $80K Gift of Equity for the down payment
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5. Texas cities top list of 'most motivated' markets

Four Texas markets — Sherman, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas — rank among the nation's most motivated seller markets, according to Parcl data. In each one, more than half of sellers have cut their asking prices as buyers gain the upper hand.

Sherman leads the nation, with 55%+ of sellers cutting prices and a median discount of nearly 6%. Austin comes in at No. 3, where 54.4% of sellers have lowered their asking price by a median of 5.4%.

San Antonio and Dallas round out the top five, ranking No. 4 and No. 5. In San Antonio, 54%+ of sellers cut prices with a median discount of 5%, while in Dallas, 53% of sellers cut prices by a median of 4.5%.

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