Houston Mortgage Rates & Home Loans

The Houston market, honestly

Houston's calling card is value. Wages here, anchored by energy, medicine at the Texas Medical Center, aerospace, and the port, tend to stretch further against home prices than in almost any other large metro, so first-time buyers can still realistically get in and move-up buyers get more house for the money. The flip side is a sprawling market with enormous variety, from close-in neighborhoods that reach well into jumbo territory to master-planned suburbs an hour out, and the financing that fits each is different.

Because we shop many wholesale lenders instead of pushing one bank's product, we can meet Houston where it is: a jumbo file in the Memorial villages, a first home in a MUD-district suburb, an energy professional with equity compensation, or an investor adding a rental. One bank has one answer. We find the lender who actually wants your file.

Property taxes and MUD districts

Texas has no state income tax, and Houston makes up for it with high property taxes that form a big part of the monthly payment. On top of the base county and school-district rates, a great many Houston-area subdivisions, especially in Fort Bend, Montgomery, and the growing edges of Harris, sit inside a Municipal Utility District (MUD) that adds its own levy to fund water, roads, and infrastructure. A MUD can push the effective tax rate well above the headline number, and it is easy to overlook when comparing homes. We build a realistic, homesteaded tax figure, MUD included, into your qualification so your Houston mortgage payment is honest from the start.

Flooding and flood insurance after Harvey

Houston's flat terrain, bayous, and reservoirs mean flood risk is a real part of buying here, and Hurricane Harvey made the point permanently. FEMA flood maps and, just as important, a property's actual flooding history and elevation determine whether flood insurance is required and what it costs, and homes just outside a mapped zone can still flood. We check a property's flood status early, weigh NFIP against private flood coverage, and build the real number into your estimate rather than letting it surface late in the deal.

Jumbo and the inner loop

Prices in the close-in neighborhoods, River Oaks, the Memorial villages, West University, the Heights, Bellaire, climb quickly into jumbo territory. Jumbo pricing and guidelines vary sharply between lenders, and the right one can mean a better rate and far less documentation for a strong borrower. We price your jumbo scenario across multiple lenders, including options with lighter reserve requirements, so a high-value Houston purchase does not become a paperwork ordeal at one bank's mercy.

New construction and the suburbs

Master-planned communities are central to Houston, Katy, Cypress, Sugar Land, The Woodlands, Pearland, and out toward Fulshear, and much of what sells there is new construction. The builder's preferred lender is convenient and often dangles incentives, but the loan itself is not always the best deal once you compare full cost. We are happy to price your loan against the builder's offer, incentive and all, and we handle the extended rate locks new construction sometimes needs.

Where we help across Greater Houston

Harris County: the Heights, Montrose, Bellaire, West University, Memorial, the Energy Corridor, Cypress, and Spring. Fort Bend: Sugar Land, Katy, Richmond, and Fulshear. Montgomery: The Woodlands, Conroe, and Magnolia. Brazoria and Galveston: Pearland, Friendswood, League City, and the coast.

Whether it is a bungalow in the Heights, a jumbo home in Memorial, a new build in Katy, or a rental in Pearland, the right loan and lender differ for each, and comparing them side by side is what we do.