How to Buy a House in Texas: Complete Guide
Texas homes listed in August 2026 at a median listing price of $359,990, with median days on market of 64, per Realtor.com® Economic Research. The figure that changes how you budget here: Texas title insurance premiums are set by the state insurance commissioner, not negotiated deal by deal, and the promulgated rates dropped 6.2% on March 1, 2026.
Both numbers describe active listings — the price asked and the days until closing or withdrawal.
Your closing is run by a state-licensed escrow officer
Texas Insurance Code § 2652.001 bars a person from acting as an escrow officer unless the person “holds a license issued by the department,” carries the required surety bond or deposit, and “is appointed under Section 2652.1511 as an escrow officer by a title insurance agent or direct operation.” The statute defines an escrow officer as an attorney or a bona fide employee of a title insurance agent or direct operation whose duties include “closing the transaction” — the investigation made for the title insurer to confirm proper execution and delivery of the conveyance and loan papers, that “all delinquent taxes have been paid,” and that current taxes “have been properly prorated between the purchaser and seller” (§ 2501.003(4); § 2501.006(b) lists six closing determinations; full list: § 2501.006(b)). On attorney licensing, § 2652.003(a) provides only that “an attorney is not required to be licensed as an escrow officer to perform the duties of an escrow officer.” Money moves last. Under § 2652.004(a), an escrow officer “may not disburse funds from a trust fund account until good funds related to the transaction have been received and deposited.”
Title premiums are promulgated in Austin
Texas Insurance Code § 2703.151 requires that “the commissioner fix and promulgate the premium rates to be charged by a title insurance company or by a title insurance agent for title insurance policies.” After a December 12, 2025 rate hearing, Commissioner Cassie Brown signed Order No. 2025-9697 on December 19, 2025, cutting basic premium rates 6.2% and ordering that “effective March 1, 2026, title insurance companies and title insurance agents must use the basic premium rates reflected in Exhibit A.” The department folded the table into the Basic Manual it adopts by reference at 28 TAC § 9.1, as amended effective March 1, 2026. Every Texas underwriter charges the same basic premium, which by statute “includes a charge for title examination and closing the transaction” (Insurance Code § 2501.003(8)):
| Policy face amount | Basic premium (rates effective March 1, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Up to $100,000 | $780 at the $100,000 line; smaller face amounts are listed in steps |
| $100,001–$1,000,000 | Subtract $100,000; multiply by 0.00494 and round to the nearest dollar; add $780 |
Applied to the August 2026 statewide median listing price of $359,990, a policy at that face amount computes to a $2,064 basic premium (($359,990 − $100,000) × 0.00494, rounded, plus $780) — the same arithmetic as the order’s own worked examples. See the commissioner’s order and rate table.
No transfer tax; the county clerk charges a recording fee
Texas imposes no deed or real-estate transfer tax. Article VIII, § 29 of the Texas Constitution (added November 3, 2015) prohibits laws enacted after January 1, 2016 that tax a conveyance of fee-simple real property, and the September 29, 2026 examination of all Texas Legislature code archives located no deed-transfer levy. Recording still carries the clerk’s fee. It runs $5 for the first page and $4 for each additional page of a real property filing (Local Government Code § 118.011(a)(2)), “in addition to any other specific fee provided for by other statute” (§ 118.013(d)). The layer-by-layer cost picture: closing costs in Texas; what sellers pay on the other side: how to sell a house in Texas. Estimate your share with the closing cost calculator.
The seller’s disclosure notice and your seven-day exit
For residential real property “comprising not more than one dwelling unit,” Property Code § 5.008(a) requires the seller to give you a written Seller’s Disclosure Notice, in the statutory form or one “substantially similar.” TREC publishes the current version as form 55-1, effective May 28, 2026. The clock is statutory. It requires delivery “on or before the effective date of an executory contract binding the purchaser to purchase the property” (§ 5.008(f)), and if you sign without having received the notice, “the purchaser may terminate the contract for any reason within seven days after receiving the notice.” Eleven kinds of transfer are exempt from the notice duty — among them court-ordered and foreclosure sales, transfers between co-owners or to a spouse or lineal relative, and a never-occupied new residence (full list: § 5.008(e)). More detail: Texas seller disclosure requirements.
Down-payment help: TSAHC and the state program guides
The Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation, a nonprofit the Legislature created to expand homeownership, runs two home loan programs: Homes for Texas Heroes for listed professions (public school educators, police officers and public security officers, firefighters and EMS personnel, veterans or active military, correction officers and juvenile corrections officers, nursing faculty and allied health faculty) and Home Sweet Texas for buyers outside those groups. Through a participating lender, a qualified buyer can receive “up to 5% of your loan amount” toward the down payment and/or closing costs — as a grant never repaid, a forgivable second lien forgiven after three years if the buyer does not sell, refinance, or move out, or a deferred repayable second lien. First-time buyers can also apply for a Mortgage Credit Certificate. Income requirements and sales price restrictions apply. The broader program menu lives in our first-time home buyer programs in Texas and down payment assistance in Texas guides; run loan numbers with the mortgage calculator.
Three rules that change your first-year numbers
The school-tax homestead exemption is $140,000. Tax Code § 11.13(b) entitles an adult to an exemption “from taxation by a school district of $140,000 of the appraised value” of a residence homestead. That level took force November 4, 2025. Eligibility is judged on January 1 (§ 11.42(a)), but § 11.42(f) lets a buyer who closes after January 1 receive the school exemption “for the applicable portion of that tax year immediately on qualification for the exemption if the preceding owner did not receive the same exemption for that tax year.”
The seller’s 10% appraisal cap restarts for you. An appraisal office may raise a homestead’s appraised value by no more than the preceding year’s appraised value plus 10 percent plus the value of new improvements (Tax Code § 23.23(a)). That limitation “takes effect as to a residence homestead on January 1 of the tax year following the first tax year the owner qualifies the property for an exemption” (§ 23.23(c)), and it “expires on January 1 of the first tax year” in which the prior owner, or that owner’s spouse or surviving spouse, no longer qualifies (§ 23.23(c)). Buy a home the seller held for a decade and your first January 1 can bring a market-value reset on the appraisal roll. The statewide framework, including how to protest that value: Texas property tax system explained.
An HOA resale certificate is a statutory document. In a subdivision with a property owners’ association, a written request obliges the association to deliver subdivision information within 10 business days, including “a resale certificate prepared not earlier than the 60th day before the date the certificate is delivered” (Property Code § 207.003(a)). The certificate must state the frequency and amount of regular assessments, approved special assessments, and the total due and unpaid (§ 207.003(b) lists sixteen required items; full list: § 207.003(b)). An amount owed on the preparation date that goes undisclosed “shall automatically terminate” the association’s lien for it, and the buyer “is not liable” for that undisclosed debt (§ 207.005(a)). Do this due diligence before closing. Start with evaluating an HOA in Texas.
Agent pay after August 17, 2024, and checking a license
The NAR settlement — an MLS policy, not a Texas statute — took effect August 17, 2024 on MLSs covered by it. NAR’s buyer rules: you “sign a written agreement with your agent before touring a home”; the seller “may agree to offer compensation to your agent. This practice is permitted but the offer cannot be shared on an MLS”; and you “can still accept concessions from the seller, such as offers to pay your closing costs.” NAR’s own line: “Compensation for your agent remains fully negotiable and is not set by law.” Verify the license first. The Texas Real Estate Commission’s license holder search is free.
Questions Texas buyers ask
Who conducts a Texas closing?
A state-licensed escrow officer conducts it. The officer is appointed by a title insurance agent or direct operation (§ 2652.001). No disbursement happens until good funds are deposited (§ 2652.004(a)).
Does Texas tax the recording of my deed?
The reviewed code contains no deed-transfer levy. Under Article VIII, § 29, a post-January 1, 2016 law cannot tax the conveyance of fee-simple title, and the county clerk’s charge is the $5/$4-per-page recording fee (§ 118.011(a)(2)).
Can I shop for a cheaper title premium in Texas?
No. The basic premium is promulgated; every company uses the same rate table, in force since March 1, 2026, and the premium already bundles the title examination and the closing charge.
When does my homestead tax break start?
Qualification is measured on January 1, but a closing after that date still earns the school-tax exemption for that year’s applicable portion the day you qualify, if the seller did not claim it (§ 11.42(f)); the 10% appraisal cap begins January 1 of the following year (§ 23.23(c), (c-1)).