Greater Houston households now need to earn at least $100,800 a year to afford a median-priced home, even as that median price actually slipped to $340,300 during the third quarter of 2026. The numbers mark a modest improvement for buyers compared to a year ago, but renters across the region are finding their own math getting slightly harder, not easier.
The figures come from the Houston Association of Realtors’ latest Housing and Rental Affordability Report, which found that 42% of Greater Houston households could afford that median-priced home in the third quarter, up from 39% a year earlier. The median home price declined 0.4% year over year, down from $341,600 in the third quarter of 2025, according to HAR. As KHOU 11 reported, that still leaves most households priced out of a typical purchase.
Despite the drop in home prices, the typical monthly mortgage payment, including principal, taxes and insurance, actually ticked up slightly to $2,520, compared to $2,510 in the same quarter last year, per HAR’s figures. The qualifying annual income needed to buy also rose modestly, from $100,400 a year ago to $100,800 now.
Renters Face a Tighter Squeeze Than Buyers
While homebuying affordability edged up, the rental side of the ledger moved the other direction. Forty-four percent of Houston-area households could afford the median monthly lease payment in the third quarter, down from 45% a year earlier, HAR’s report shows. The median monthly lease itself actually dipped slightly, from $2,200 to $2,195, and the qualifying income needed to rent that median unit was $87,800, compared with $88,000 the year before…