Pin Oak Village Real Estate, Katy, Texas

10/16/2026

🏡 “Home sellers outnumber buyers by 63%.”

That headline gets your attention. But after digging into the research, the Houston numbers deserve even more attention.

Redfin estimates that Houston had 134.6% more sellers than buyers in September, roughly 2.35 sellers for every buyer. That placed Houston third among the 50 major metros studied, behind Miami and Nashville.

One detail matters: These are estimates. Redfin uses active listings to count sellers and models buyer activity using touring and MLS data. This isn’t a literal head count of everyone shopping for a home. (redfin.com⁠)

So, what else does the research tell us?

📊 Homes are selling, but demand has weakened.

HAR reports that Greater Houston had 7,030 single-family closings in September. Sales were down 5.7% from last year, while pending listings fell 11.6%.

Pending activity matters because it reflects more recent decisions to purchase. September’s closings generally represent decisions made earlier.

Meanwhile, single-family inventory reached 5.5 months, and available listings increased 6.3%. Buyers have more alternatives competing for their attention. (har.com⁠)

💰 Stable prices don’t tell the whole negotiation story.

Houston’s median single-family sales price remained essentially unchanged at $325,000. But that’s the midpoint of the homes that sold. It doesn’t tell us whether an individual property maintained its value or how much the seller contributed to complete the transaction. (har.com⁠)

A separate Redfin analysis found seller concessions in 58.5% of Houston transactions in its sample for the three months ending August. Those concessions included help with closing costs, repairs, or mortgage rate buydowns. Negotiated price reductions were counted separately.

That study covers transactions reported by Redfin buyers’ agents, so it shouldn’t be treated as a count of every Houston sale. Still, it shows why the sale price alone doesn’t reveal the seller’s actual net. (redfin.com⁠)

🏗️ Resale sellers also need to watch builder incentives.

NAHB’s September national survey found that 38% of builders reduced prices, and 66% offered sales incentives.

My takeaway: If buyers can choose between your resale and a comparable new home, they may compare the monthly payment and cash needed to close as closely as the asking price. Builder incentives can change that comparison. (nahb.org⁠)

📉 Other research supports the shift.

Realtor.com reported that 20.8% of active listings nationwide had price reductions in September, the highest September share since 2018. Active inventory increased 5.4% year over year. (mediaroom.realtor.com⁠)

Here’s what this means if you’re selling:

Your pricing strategy needs to account for the homes buyers can purchase today, pending activity, condition, and competing incentives. Last year’s sale down the street is only one piece of the analysis.

If comparable homes are going under contract and yours isn’t getting showings, that’s a reason to reassess your price and presentation. If buyers are touring but passing, their feedback can help identify the obstacle.

Waiting has a cost, too. Mortgage interest, taxes, insurance, utilities, and maintenance belong in the calculation when weighing an offer against another few months on the market.

For buyers:

More negotiating power can create opportunities, but it doesn’t automatically make a home affordable. Compare the full payment, cash to close, repair needs, and how long any temporary rate buydown lasts. A purchase should work with today’s financing.

For Magnolia sellers, the next step is narrowing these broad numbers to your actual competition. An acreage estate, an equestrian property, and a home in a neighborhood with substantial new construction can face very different conditions.

My advice: Make your decision using the market your property is competing in, with a clear understanding of what waiting could cost.

Erica Stietenroth | The Realty Chick
979-574-4909

Supporting articles and reports:

* Redfin: https://www.redfin.com/news/buyers-vs-sellers-september-2026/
* HAR: https://www.har.com/content/department/mls?print=1
* Redfin: https://www.redfin.com/news/home-seller-concessions-august-2026/
* NAHB: https://www.nahb.org/news-and-economics/press-releases/2026/09/builder-sentiment-falls-on-higher-interest-rates-and-costs
* Realtor.com: https://www.realtor.com/news/

10/08/2026

Here is our September 2026 market update:

● We currently have 4 active listings and are at 2-92 days on market. The price ranges from $153.35-$194.03/sqft.
● 1 home is under contract that had a list price per sqft from $124.55/sqft and were 424 days on market.
● 1 home closed in September from $110.83/sqft having spent 107 days on market.

Pin Oak has seen a lot of activity with listings this year. To date we have had 20 homes list/sell in total including the 4 currently active. The average sales price for the year so far is $544,981; of course many factors are playing into that average here with properties having variances in condition and square footage.

This chart shows the average days on market for POV over the past 5 years. Any area with no number means no homes sold that particular month.

(NOTE: price per square foot and sales prices all vary by size (home and lot), condition, location and property features of a home. All information is derived from the HAR MLS. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. If you're interested in a valuation of your home please contact Erica Lytle Stietenroth - REAL Broker, your Pin Oak Village and Katy area specialist). [email protected] | 979-574-4909.

09/24/2026

🚨 A meaningful shift today, and not in the right direction for mortgage rates.

🛢️ After falling for five straight sessions, oil reversed course sharply. Brent crude jumped 3.9% to $103.08, while WTI closed at $92.16. Renewed tension between the U.S. and Iran took some of the optimism out of the market that the conflict could calm down quickly.

📈 At the same time, the 10-year Treasury reached 5.054%, its highest level since 2007. Stronger economic data also pushed the probability of another Fed rate increase in October to roughly 73%.

🏡 Why does this matter for real estate?

Earlier this week, falling oil prices and Treasury yields gave us some reason to feel better about the direction of mortgage rates. Today, we have the opposite:

🛢️ Oil back above $100
📈 The 10-year Treasury above 5%
💪 Stronger-than-expected economic data
🏦 Growing expectations of another Fed hike

At this point, I would no longer describe the near-term rate outlook as improving. SO STOP SAYING YOU’RE WAITING FOR A BETTER MARKET! THE MARKET ISN’T GETTING ANY BETTER ABY TIME SOON!

Buyers should make decisions based on today’s rates, not on the assumption that they’ll be able to refinance soon (spoiler: we see no “better rates in the near future). Sellers need to price for what buyers can afford right now, rather than waiting for lower rates to create more demand (sellers: nobody cares what you want for your home or how much you think you need from it). 🤷🏻‍♀️

Now, one rough day doesn’t establish a trend. What you need to watch now is whether Brent stays above $100 and the 10-year remains above 5% over the next several days. If both hold, the mortgage-rate outlook heading into October becomes meaningfully worse.

🔗 Sources:

Oil market update:
https://za.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-falls-on-increased-gulf-supply-and-hopes-for-usiran-talks-4473792

Treasury yields and Fed expectations:
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/23/market-sees-next-fed-hike-in-october-following-barr-comments-hot-inflation.html

S&P Global said its overall inflation measure hit its highest level since October 2022.

09/14/2026

🏠 Builders are cutting prices again, and the shift from July to August is pretty significant.

A new BTIG/HomeSphere survey of 59 small and mid-sized homebuilders shows just how quickly conditions softened in August:

📉 30% cut base prices, double July’s 15%
💰 36% increased buyer incentives, up from 19%
📊 44% said sales came in below expectations, up from 29%
🏡 42% reported fewer sales than a year ago, the highest percentage since November 2023
🚶 37% reported declining buyer traffic, up from 23%
⬆️ Only 13% raised prices, down from 21%

Affordability and weaker demand were among the biggest concerns builders reported.

Why does this matter?

Builders often react to changing market conditions faster than individual homeowners because every completed home sitting unsold costs them money. When inventory starts stacking up, they have several levers they can pull: price reductions, closing-cost assistance, mortgage-rate buydowns, upgrades, or combinations of all four.

👀 For buyers: Don’t assume the advertised price or incentive is the best deal available. If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines because of affordability, it may be worth revisiting new construction. Depending on the builder and community, there may be considerably more negotiating room than there was even a month ago.

🏠 For resale sellers: Pay attention. Your competition isn’t limited to the house down the street. If nearby builders are offering lower prices, rate buydowns, and thousands toward closing costs, buyers are comparing that entire package against your home. Pricing and positioning correctly matters even more in communities competing heavily with new construction.

And remember, this is a national survey of 59 builders, so it doesn’t mean every builder or every Houston-area community is experiencing the same thing. But the month-over-month movement is absolutely worth watching.

👉 https://investorshub.advfn.com/market-news/article/36113/us-homebuilder-survey-shows-weaker-sales-and-customer-traffic-in-august

09/14/2026

If you’ve been waiting for mortgage rates to come down, this is something to pay attention to.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield briefly crossed 5% today, hitting its highest level since 2007. And one of the biggest forces pushing it higher right now isn’t the housing market. It’s oil.

Rising geopolitical tensions have sent oil prices surging, with Brent crude approaching $110 a barrel. Higher energy costs don’t just mean more at the gas pump. They raise transportation and production costs throughout the economy, which creates additional inflation pressure.

And inflation changes the outlook for interest rates.

Mortgage rates tend to move closely with the bond market, particularly the 10-year Treasury. When investors expect inflation to remain elevated, Treasury yields generally rise, and mortgage rates face upward pressure with them.

That’s why waiting for mortgage rates to simply “come back down” may not be the strategy people think it is.

What’s happening with rates right now is much bigger than housing inventory, buyer demand, or the normal seasonal real estate cycle. Oil, inflation, geopolitical risk, and the Federal Reserve are all feeding into the cost of borrowing.

For buyers and sellers, this is exactly why I keep saying we have to make decisions based on the market we actually have, not the market we hope is coming six months from now.

If you’re selling, higher mortgage rates can shrink buyer purchasing power quickly, which makes pricing and positioning even more important.

If you’re buying, waiting for rates to drop is a gamble. If the right home fits your budget today, focus on the payment you can comfortably afford now and keep the option to refinance later if rates improve.

09/10/2026

While Harris County was making headlines over its property tax vote, Montgomery County slid one in too. 👀

Montgomery County Commissioners approved a $546 million budget in a 3-2 vote, increasing the county property tax rate from $0.3770 to $0.3860 per $100 of valuation. The budget is also about $38 million larger than last year’s.

County officials estimate the rate increase itself could mean roughly $2 to $3 more per month for the median homeowner. But that’s only one piece of the affordability puzzle.

Property values, homeowners insurance, HOA dues, maintenance costs, and everyday expenses have all risen. For buyers, every increase in taxes and insurance raises the monthly payment and chips away at purchasing power.

Housing affordability isn’t just about the price of the house or the mortgage rate. It’s the total cost of owning it. And those costs keep adding up.

Harris County and Montgomery County giving homeowners property tax news at the same time wasn’t exactly on my September bingo card. 😑🏡



🔗 https://abc13.com/post/montgomery-county-approves-new-budget-includes-raises-property-tax-rate-increase/19807213/?ex_cid=TA_KTRK_FB&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwdGRleAUPEh9wZG9mBWZkaWQWUOKiNB7ltXyuL6HEedBurQD33HtjRGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR7sOarXGUM37oT5KsR4cmNJMhd_nzNQS1cdTMPS1jKeKuPSk7doU0zq6RXS4w_aem_RXUSTP0I1Tz6Ezjsb4LvUA

In a 3-2 vote, Montgomery County commissioners approved a new $546 million budget on Tuesday for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.

09/04/2026

Here is our August 2026 market update:

● We currently have 3 active listings and are at 38-401 days on market. The price ranges from $124.55-$197.51/sqft.
● 1 home is under contract that had a list price per sqft from $110.83/sqft and were 107 days on market.
● 1 home closed in August from $134.22/sqft having spent 8 days on market.

Pin Oak has seen a lot of activity with listings this year. To date we have had 18 homes list/sell in total including the 3 currently active. The average sales price for the year so far is $538,337; of course many factors are playing into that average here with properties having variances in condition and square footage.

This chart shows the average days on market for POV over the past 5 years. Any area with no number means no homes sold that particular month.

(NOTE: price per square foot and sales prices all vary by size (home and lot), condition, location and property features of a home. All information is derived from the HAR MLS. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. If you're interested in a valuation of your home please contact Erica Lytle Stietenroth - REAL Broker, your Pin Oak Village and Katy area specialist). [email protected] | 979-574-4909.

08/18/2026

Here is our July 2026 market update:

We currently have 2 active listings and are at 41-76 days on market. The price ranges from $126.98-$171.18/sqft.

2 homes are under contract that were 24 and 32 days on market had a list price per sqft of $110.83 and $202.21.

2 homes closed in July from $133.50-$153.08/sqft having spent 15-111 days on market.

Pin Oak has seen a lot of activity with listings this year. To date we have had 18 homes list/sell in total including the 2 currently active. The average sales price for the year so far is $527,440; of course many factors are playing into that average here with properties having variances in condition and square footage.

This chart shows the average days on market for POV over the past 5 years. Any area with no number means no homes sold that particular month.

(NOTE: price per square foot and sales prices all vary by size (home and lot), condition, location and property features of a home. All information is derived from the HAR MLS. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. If you're interested in a valuation of your home please contact Erica Lytle Stietenroth, your Pin Oak Village and Katy area specialist). [email protected]

08/12/2026

I went on a listing appointment this past weekend. Well, sort of. Shelly went in person for me, and I attended via FaceTime.

The husband’s mother was there on his behalf and asked about the brokerage I’m with and my qualifications. Fair questions. So, when I sent the sellers my analysis afterward, I made sure to include that information too.

And reading it all laid out like that made me stop for a minute.

I am really proud of what I’ve built in this career. Proud of the production, the rankings, the experience, and the years of work behind all of it.

That isn’t bragging. It’s not fluff. It’s simply the FACTS.

And those facts represent a career I’ve worked very hard to build.

__________________

Real Broker, LLC is part of The Real Brokerage Inc., a publicly traded real estate company on NASDAQ under the symbol REAX. While Real is a newer name compared with some of the traditional franchise brands, it has grown very rapidly. Real recently surpassed 35,000 agents throughout the United States and Canada and ranks among the five largest brokerages in the United States by both agent count and sales volume, based on the 2025 RealTrends Verified Brokerage Rankings.

Real is a technology-driven brokerage that operates nationwide and has built much of its growth around giving agents strong technology, systems, support, and infrastructure while allowing experienced agents to build and operate their own local brands. In 2025 alone, Real agents closed more than 185,000 transactions totaling approximately $75.3 billion in sales volume. You may also have recently seen Real in the national news. In April, Real entered into a definitive agreement to acquire RE/MAX Holdings, the parent company of RE/MAX. Once the transaction is completed, the combined organization will be called Real REMAX Group and is expected to represent more than 180,000 real estate professionals across more than 120 countries and territories. Real and RE/MAX will continue to operate as distinct brands.

As for me personally, I have been in residential real estate since 2015 and am a Broker Associate, Team Leader, and Listing Specialist; my small team is called The Realty Chick Real Estate Group. My business is heavily focused on representing sellers, with an emphasis on pricing strategy, property preparation, marketing, negotiation, and helping homeowners make smart decisions about where it does and does not make sense to invest money before putting a home on the market.

Over the course of my career, I have closed more than $200 million in residential real estate sales and have consistently ranked among the top-producing agents in the Greater Houston market. I am currently recognized by RealTrends Verified, which ranks top-producing real estate professionals based on verified sales data, not popular vote. In the 2026 rankings, I was ranked #1 in Magnolia for both sales volume and transaction sides, #137 in Texas for transaction sides, and #332 in Texas for sales volume, while also receiving national rankings in both categories. I have also been recognized within Real Brokerage as one of its top individual producers nationally.

My production history has been consistent throughout my career. I have previously ranked nationally for transaction sides while with eXp Realty, received multiple top-production awards while with Keller Williams, and was selected for the Houston Association of REALTORS YPN 20 Under 40 Achievement Award in 2018, which recognizes achievement in real estate sales, leadership, and community involvement.

I am also a member of Real Luxury, Real Brokerage’s specialized luxury division, and hold the Million Dollar GUILD designation through The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, reflecting demonstrated experience in the luxury market.

Today, I continue to rank among the top 300 agents in the Greater Houston market, a market made up of nearly 50,000 real estate professionals. More importantly, my focus is not simply on volume. My goal with every listing is to give sellers clear, data-driven advice, position their home correctly, market it effectively, negotiate aggressively on their behalf, and manage the process from preparation through closing.

🫳🎤🔥

Erica Lytle Stietenroth | [email protected] | 979.574.4909

06/26/2026

This closing holds a special place in my heart.

When we started this journey, we were doing two major milestones at once. We had their current home on the market while helping them purchase their next one. Coordinating a purchase and a sale simultaneously takes planning, communication, and a lot of moving pieces, but seeing it all come together makes days like today so rewarding.

What makes this closing even more meaningful is how it all began. These wonderful clients were referred to me by one of my former clients, Tamera & David. Jillian is her daughter, and being trusted by multiple generations of the same family is something I’ll never take for granted.

This was also their first time selling a home, so I wanted to make sure they felt informed, prepared, and supported through every step of the process. From getting their home ready for the market, to finding the right next home, to celebrating this closing, it has truly been an honor to walk alongside them.

Jillian and David, thank you for trusting me and Shelly with both your purchase and your sale. Congratulations on this exciting new chapter. I’m so grateful I was able to be part of your journey.

Congratulations to you both on this new chapter. Thank you for trusting me with such an important part of your lives. It truly means more than you know. ❤️

- Erica Stietenroth - The Realty Chick