How to Get Your Home Ready to Sell in Texas (2026)

How to get your home ready to sell comes down to three jobs: prepare and stage the house, price it from recent comparable sales, and know your closing costs before you list. If you get those three right, the rest of the sale tends to fall into place.

This guide is for Texas homeowners, from a Hill Country house in Kendall County to a lake home on the Highland Lakes to an adobe in Brewster County. It covers what staging actually does according to the National Association of REALTORS research, how to read today’s Texas market, the line items on a Texas seller’s closing statement, and the disclosure and tax rules worth knowing before you put a sign in the yard.

Where should you start when getting your home ready to sell?

Start with condition, then cosmetics. Walk through the house the way a buyer’s inspector will, fix what’s broken, and pull together the records you’ll need for your seller’s disclosure. Staging comes after the repairs, never in place of them.

Most Texas buyers negotiate an option period so they can inspect the home. Anything an inspector would flag, like a leaking water heater, a breaker that keeps tripping, or a soft spot by the shower, costs you less to fix on your own schedule than through a repair amendment after you’re under contract. Not every project pays for itself, though. We go through which ones usually do in our guide to whether you should fix your home before you sell it.

Next, edit. Clear most of what sits on your counters and shelves. Thin out closets so they look roomy, put personal photos away, and clean deep enough to reach the grout and the window tracks. Outside, buyers size up the house from the street. Fresh mulch, a trimmed live oak, a clean front door and working porch lights often do more than an interior upgrade. For a short checklist, see the five best ways to get your home ready to sell.

Staged Hill Country living room with limestone fireplace, neutral furnishings and open blinds framing a view of live oaks

Does home staging actually help a house sell?

Usually, yes, but it’s a help and not a guarantee. Home staging mostly helps buyers picture themselves living in the house, and agents report that it often shortens time on market and sometimes raises offers.

NAR’s 2025 Profile of Home Staging comes from a February 2025 survey that drew 1,266 usable responses. In it, 83% of buyers’ agents said staging made it easier for a buyer to see the property as a future home. Twenty-nine percent of agents said staging brought a 1% to 10% increase in the dollar value offered, and 49% of sellers’ agents said it cut the time homes spent on the market. Those are agent opinions, not controlled experiments, so treat them as a sign of the direction rather than a promise.

Put your effort where buyers look. In the same report, buyers ranked the living room as the most important room to stage (37%), then the primary bedroom (34%) and the kitchen (23%). Guest rooms ranked far lower. In the Hill Country and out west, the view is often the real selling point, so open the blinds, wash the windows and set up the porch or patio as a room of its own. For more ways to put dollars back in your pocket, read how to sell your house for more.

Freshly mulched front yard and clean front porch of a Boerne, Texas home ready for listing photos

How do you price a home in today’s Texas market?

Price from recent closed sales of similar homes nearby. Don’t price from your appraisal district value, an online estimate or a neighbor’s asking price. In a market where buyers have choices, the first two weeks of a listing matter most, and an overpriced home tends to sit and then need price cuts.

Statewide, the market has settled. According to the Texas Realtors 2026 Q2 Texas Quarterly Housing Report, the statewide median sales price for the second quarter was $340,000, unchanged from the year before, and homes spent 65 days on the market on average. Redfin’s Texas data for September 2026 shows a median sale price of $329,054, down 0.93% year over year, with a median of 68 days on market.

Local numbers can look very different. In Boerne, in Kendall County in the Austin-Waco-Hill Country region, Redfin’s Boerne data for May 2026 showed a median sale price of $449,731, down 5.5% year over year, with the average home selling about 3% below list price after roughly 62 days. Depending on the source and the time window, published Boerne medians can differ by six figures. That’s why a real comparative market analysis of homes for sale in Boerne TX that actually closed beats any single headline number.

Also, don’t mix up your appraisal notice with market value. In Texas, appraisal districts set values as of January 1, and that number often doesn’t match what a buyer will pay. To see where your home really stands, request a free home valuation based on current comparable sales.

Bright kitchen with cleared granite counters and a single bowl of lemons, prepared for buyer showings

What closing costs does a Texas home seller pay?

A Texas seller usually pays brokerage compensation, the buyer’s owner’s title insurance policy, half the escrow fee, property taxes prorated through the closing date, and smaller items such as recording and HOA resale certificate fees. Texas doesn’t charge a real estate transfer tax.

Commissions aren’t set by law. They’re negotiable. Since the NAR settlement practice changes took effect on August 17, 2024, offers of compensation to a buyer’s agent can’t be posted on the MLS. Your listing agent has to get your approval for any such offer, and buyers now sign a written agreement with their own agent before touring homes. Ask your listing agent to explain your options in writing.

By Texas custom, the seller pays for the buyer’s owner’s title policy. That’s negotiable, but it’s the standard assumption in the TREC resale contract. The Texas Department of Insurance sets title premiums, so every title company charges the same base rate, and TDI ordered a 6.2% reduction in basic rates effective March 1, 2026. Published estimates under the 2026 schedule put the owner’s policy at roughly $2,262 on a $400,000 home and $5,226 on a $1 million home. Get the exact figure from your title company. What you can shop for are the escrow and settlement fees, and TREC Paragraph 12A splits the escrow fee in half between buyer and seller.

Texas property taxes are paid in arrears. Under Paragraph 13 of the TREC contract, current-year taxes are prorated through the closing date. If the bill hasn’t come out yet, you credit the buyer for the stretch from January 1 to closing, and the two parties settle up once actual tax statements arrive. Before you list, ask the title company for an estimated settlement statement so your net proceeds don’t surprise you.

Lake home patio on the Highland Lakes set with outdoor seating overlooking the water at sunset

What does a Texas seller have to disclose?

Most Texas sellers of a single-family home have to give the buyer a written seller’s disclosure notice on or before the contract’s effective date. The requirement comes from Texas Property Code Section 5.008, and it applies to residential property with not more than one dwelling unit.

You fill out the notice to the best of your belief and knowledge as of the date you sign it. As the Texas Real Estate Research Center explains, it’s a disclosure of what you know about the property’s condition. It isn’t a warranty, and it doesn’t replace the buyer’s own inspections. Timing matters too: if you sign a contract without giving the notice, the buyer can terminate for any reason within seven days after receiving it. The statute lists exemptions, such as court-ordered and foreclosure sales.

Selling as-is doesn’t get you out of disclosing known defects. Fill out the form honestly, mark Unknown where you truly don’t know, and gather repair receipts, warranties and any past inspection reports ahead of time. If your situation is unusual, check with a real estate attorney before you sign.

Seller reviewing an estimated settlement statement with a title company closer at a conference table

Will you owe tax when you sell your home?

Many sellers of a primary residence owe no federal income tax on the gain because of the home sale exclusion. Whether you qualify depends on how long you owned the home and lived in it, so confirm with your CPA.

Under IRS Topic 701, you may be able to exclude up to $250,000 of gain from the sale of your main home, or up to $500,000 if you file a joint return with your spouse. In general you have to meet both an ownership test and a use test: owning the home and living in it as your main home for at least 24 months of the five years before the sale. For joint filers, either spouse can meet the ownership test, but both have to meet the use test. Rental use, a second home or past depreciation can change the math. IRS Publication 523 has the worksheets, and a tax professional can apply them to your situation.

A pre-listing game plan for Hill Country, lake and West Texas homes

The steps are the same everywhere: repair, edit, stage, price from comps, then estimate your net. What changes from market to market is the buyer pool and how many comparable sales your agent has to work with.

Around Boerne and the rest of the Hill Country, buyers compare you against plenty of listings, so presentation and an accurate first price carry a lot of weight. When it comes to Horseshoe Bay TX homes on the Highland Lakes, the waterfront, docks and views set the price, and recent lakefront sales are the comps that count. In Alpine TX real estate and across Far West Texas, there are fewer sales to compare against. That puts more weight on local judgment about views, acreage, water and how far you are from town. If you own a higher-end property, our Luxury & Residential division markets homes across all three of our offices.

A sensible order of work: get an opinion of value first so you know what your repairs need to accomplish, then finish repairs and cleaning, then stage and photograph. Want a professional read before you spend a dollar on prep? Request a free broker price opinion, or meet our agents in Boerne, Horseshoe Bay – Highland Lakes and Alpine – Far West Texas. When you’re ready to talk through timing, contact our team and we’ll help you build a plan for your home.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far ahead should I start getting my home ready to sell?

Give yourself enough time to get a value opinion, finish repairs and deep-clean before photos. Rushing the prep usually shows up in the listing photos and the inspection report. Starting with a valuation tells you which projects are worth doing.

How much does home staging cost?

NAR’s 2025 Profile of Home Staging reported a median of $1,500 for professional staging services and $500 when the agent stages the home. Costs vary with the home’s size and whether it’s vacant or furnished.

Who pays for title insurance when you sell a house in Texas?

By Texas custom, the seller pays for the buyer’s owner’s title policy and the buyer pays for the lender’s policy, though the parties can negotiate the split. The Texas Department of Insurance sets the premium rates, so the base premium is the same at every title company.

How should I price my house against other homes for sale in Boerne TX?

Use recent closed sales of similar Boerne homes, not active asking prices or your appraisal notice. Redfin’s May 2026 data showed Boerne homes selling about 3% below list on average, so pricing accurately from the start matters.

Do these steps change for Horseshoe Bay TX homes or Alpine TX real estate?

The steps don’t change, but the comps do. Lake homes are measured against recent waterfront sales, and in Far West Texas, where there are fewer sales, local knowledge of views, acreage and water plays a bigger role in pricing.

Is there a transfer tax when you sell a house in Texas?

No. Texas doesn’t charge a real estate transfer tax. Sellers still pay items such as the owner’s title policy, half the escrow fee, recording fees and prorated property taxes.

Do I still need a seller’s disclosure if I sell my home as-is?

Generally yes. An as-is sale doesn’t remove the disclosure duty under Texas Property Code Section 5.008 for a single-family home, unless one of the statute’s exemptions applies. Confirm your situation with a real estate attorney.