Rates, the market, and three homes worth a look
The inaugural issue: rates at a one-year high, a genuinely balanced market where price and presentation are doing the deciding, a featured Grand Mission Estates listing — and a storm-prep checklist as Bertha’s leftovers headed for Texas.
RatesThis week’s mortgage rates
Both ticked up again — the 30-yr fixed hit its highest mark in about a year. At 6.77%, principal & interest on a $350,000 home (10% down) runs about $2,047/month; FHA at 6.35% and a lower down payment can bring that entry point down. Rates in the high-6s keep qualified buyers active but rate-sensitive — which matters whether you’re shopping, pricing a listing, or underwriting a rental.
Source: Mortgage News Daily, as of Jul 22, 2026. Run your own numbers on my calculator.
Market snapshotGreater Houston at a glance
9-county metro · single-family · trailing 90 days · per HAR MLS via Repliers · as of Jul 22, 2026
Featured listing19851 Quarry Stone Lane, Richmond
Grand Mission Estates · Fort Bend County · MLS #37019074 · as listed at send date
$479,900 · 4 bd · 3.5 ba · 2,973 sqft · built 2016
Single-story living on a rare scale — nearly 3,000 square feet all on one floor, with a domed rotunda entry, vaulted ceilings, hardwoods, and plantation shutters throughout. The island kitchen opens to the family room and a fireplace built for slow evenings, the primary suite runs spa-like with a soaking tub and walk-in glass shower, and it’s all wrapped in brick on all four sides on an oversized corner lot. A 2016 Coventry build zoned to FBISD.
On the marketThree worth a look that week
Prices and status as of the send date; listings may have since sold or changed.
$124/sqft against the area’s $154 median; a 2017 build reduced about $30K from original list.
See it on EddieWeir.com →3,397 sqft on a 7,880-sqft lot in master-planned Sienna, at $155/sqft — just under the area’s $161 median.
See it on EddieWeir.com →$225/sqft against Memorial’s $450 median — room to make it yours in an established neighborhood.
See it on EddieWeir.com →Your equityYou don’t have to be selling to know your number
With about 5.2 months of supply, pricing and preparation decide everything right now. Even if a move is a year or more away, it’s worth ten minutes to know where you stand — your number, your options, and what a smart next step looks like on your timeline.
LocalStorm watch: Bertha’s leftovers
Our first named test of the season. Tropical Storm Bertha was forecast to come ashore in Louisiana, then push what was left of itself into Texas late that week — rounds of heavy rain and street-flooding potential for Houston. The checklist from that issue holds for any named storm:
- Charge devices and top off gas tanks before the rain arrives.
- Photograph your roof, fence, and each room — ten minutes now makes any insurance claim far easier.
- Clear the storm drains near your house and bring in anything that floats or flies.
- Flood insurance carries a ~30-day waiting period — it can’t help with a storm already named, but reviewing it early covers the rest of the season.
- Rain isn’t the reason to evacuate — surge is. Coastal readers, know your zone; everyone else, stay off flooded roads.
Storm outlook per the National Hurricane Center. See also: the Houston home generator guide.
Buying, selling, or investing this year? Book a 15-minute call — I’ll send back something useful: a value on your home, a shortlist that fits, or the numbers on a deal. No pressure, no pitch.
