Published October 23, 2026 in Market Update

Clear Lake stayed active even with higher mortgage rates

By April Aberle, REALTOR® | RE/MAX Crossroads Realty

Real estate, Webster/Clear Lake/Seabrook/Kemah

Mortgage rates have been a real headwind this fall. CNBC reported the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.41% as of October 21, 2026. Realtor.com noted rates topped 7% nationally back in September 2026. That kind of rate environment slows things down in most markets. Here, it did not stop sales.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 434 homes sold across these ZIP codes in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 11.6% from the same period in 2025. At the same time, 444 sales were pending, up 5.5%. More buyers were active, not fewer. And with homes for sale down 5.9%, well-priced homes had less competition.

Each neighborhood tells a different story

The combined numbers look solid. But each ZIP code moved differently. Some areas picked up speed. Others took a little longer to sell. Here is how the Real Estate Data Aggregator broke it down for the three months ending August 31, 2026.

Where things moved fastest

The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows ZIP 77059, one of the Clear Lake ZIP codes, had just 2.6 months of supply and a median of 24 days on market. Nearly half of homes there, 45.6%, went under contract within two weeks of listing. That is up 21.5 points from a year ago. Prices in 77059 came in at a median of $436,750, up 6.5%.

ZIP 77062, the other Clear Lake ZIP code, was close behind. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 2.8 months of supply and a median of 22 days on market. That was 6 days shorter than the same period in 2025. Homes sold at a median of $325,000, up 8.3%.

Webster picked up sharply

Webster, ZIP 77598, had one of the bigger year-over-year swings. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 61 homes sold there, up 84.8% from the same three months in 2025. The median sale price reached $450,000, up 70.8%. Pending sales were up 30.8%, to 51. More homes were coming to market too: 88 new listings, up 39.7%.

Days on market in Webster were 37, which was 12 days longer than a year ago. So homes sold, and sold at higher prices, but buyers took a little more time to decide. That is a fair description of what higher rates do: they slow the decision, not the demand.

Seabrook and Kemah: more supply coming off the market

Seabrook, ZIP 77586, saw the Real Estate Data Aggregator count 102 homes sold, up 3% from a year ago. Months of supply fell to 4.6, down 0.7 months. The median price dipped a little, to $345,620, down 2.1%. Sellers in Seabrook are still getting close to list: 96.9% of list price on average, up 0.6 points.

Kemah, ZIP 77565, had the longest days on market at 91. But that number dropped 29 days from a year ago, which is a meaningful shift. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 44 homes sold, up 18.9%, with pending sales up 55.9% to 53. Months of supply fell 2.9 months, to 4.6. Kemah is moving in the right direction, even if it still takes patience.

What the national picture means here

Nationally, Realtor.com reported that price cuts reached 20.8% of listings in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. home prices rose just 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. Those are signs of a slower national market.

This area held up better than that. Sales were up, pending contracts were up, and prices in most ZIP codes moved higher. That does not mean every home sold fast or above list. Kemah's 91-day median and Seabrook's small price dip are honest reminders that pricing still matters. But the overall picture here was more active than the national story suggests.