Houston vs San Antonio

**Price Trends & Affordability**

Both Houston and San Antonio have experienced meaningful price corrections over the 24-month period. Houston peaked at $374,999 in August 2024 and has since pulled back to $350,500 as of March 2026 — a decline of roughly 6.5% from peak, with the year-over-year change sitting at -4.0%. San Antonio followed a similar arc, peaking at $349,000 in July 2024 before settling at $323,950 by March 2026, a peak-to-current drop of about 7.2% and a -3.3% YoY change. San Antonio's $26,550 price gap below Houston is meaningful in absolute terms, but it is Houston's greater economic scale and income base — median household income of $81,417 vs. San Antonio's $78,112 — that shapes relative affordability. Where San Antonio has a clearer structural edge is in its cost-of-living index: 91.2 versus Houston's 97, meaning everyday expenses run roughly 6 percentage points lower, a non-trivial cushion for buyers already stretching on high property taxes.

**Inventory & Market Velocity**

Both markets are currently operating near the same supply level — Houston at 2.8 months and San Antonio at 2.7 months as of March 2026 — but the paths they took to get there reveal meaningful differences. Houston carried 31,970 active listings versus San Antonio's 12,651, reflecting the sheer difference in metro scale (7.8M vs. 2.76M residents). Supply in both cities spiked in late 2025: Houston briefly hit 4.7 months in December 2025, while San Antonio reached 5.5 months that same month, suggesting San Antonio actually absorbed a more acute softening before pulling back sharply into early 2026. Days on market tell a telling story about buyer urgency: Houston homes are moving in 50 days versus San Antonio's 61 days — an 11-day gap that points to relatively stronger absorption in Houston despite its larger active listing count. Cash buyers are modestly more prevalent in Houston (24%) than San Antonio (21%), which could reflect more investor activity and the need to navigate Houston's known flood-risk pricing complexity.

**Economic Fundamentals & Employment**

Houston's employment base is broadly diversified across energy (ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, 24 Fortune 500 HQs), the Texas Medical Center, NASA/Johnson Space Center, and Port of Houston logistics — a mix that creates deep demand across income tiers. Its 4.4% unemployment rate is above the national average, however, and reflects the cyclicality that energy exposure introduces. San Antonio's 3.4% unemployment rate is notably lower, anchored by Joint Base San Antonio's 80,000+ military personnel, USAA's ~19,000 local employees, H-E-B's regional headquarters, and a healthcare sector. The military anchor functions as a counter-cyclical stabilizer, providing steady, recession-resistant demand that Houston's more volatile energy cycle does not replicate. Neither city levies a state income tax, though both carry high property taxes — Houston's Harris County average is approximately 2.09% and San Antonio's ranges from 2.1%–2.5% depending on taxing district.

**Livability & Trade-offs**

For daily quality of life, both metros are heavily car-dependent (Walk Scores of 47 and 44, respectively), so transit access should not be a deciding factor. San Antonio edges out Houston on commute time — 27.6 minutes versus 31 minutes — and gets roughly 16 more sunny days annually (220 vs. 204), though both post similar July highs near 94–95°F. Houston's flood risk and resulting insurance cost premium is a structural consideration that San Antonio does not face to the same degree, and buyers targeting specific Houston neighborhoods should budget carefully for both insurance and potential elevation-related costs. Conversely, San Antonio's smaller market scale means fewer employment options for specialized professionals, and its slower population growth (8.0% over 2019–2024) compared to Houston's 9.5% over 2020–2024 may translate to more modest long-term price appreciation for investors who prioritize demand-driven upside.