Selling a home in the Energy Corridor, Memorial or Katy runs on the same Texas paperwork, but buyers in each area check something different first: the Addicks and Barker flood pools in the Energy Corridor, which city government a Memorial house sits under, and the utility district and nearby new homes in Katy. What it costs is a list rather than one percentage: broker compensation you negotiate, an owner’s title policy at state-set rates if you agree to pay for it, half the escrow fee, prorated taxes and any repairs you agree to.

This guide is written by Energy Realty, a west Houston brokerage with offices in the Energy Corridor, on Eldridge Parkway, and in Katy, on Grand Circle Boulevard. We work with sellers in all three areas, and this is the guide we would want a seller to read before signing any listing agreement, ours included. It is current as of October 2026.

What does it cost to sell a house in Texas?

There is no honest single percentage, because almost every line is negotiated or depends on a box checked in the contract. The Texas Real Estate Commission’s current resale contract, TREC 20-19, effective July 1, 2026, sets who pays what unless the parties agree otherwise.

Broker compensation is negotiable on both sides

The Commission’s Information About Brokerage Services notice says it plainly: “An owner’s agent fees are not set by law and are fully negotiable,” and Paragraph 12B of the contract says the same of all brokerage compensation. The buyer’s side has changed. Since January 1, 2026, Texas Occupations Code Section 1101.563 has required a buyer’s agent to have a written agreement with the buyer, stating the compensation, before showing a home, and under National Association of REALTORS policy, offers of compensation cannot appear on a multiple listing service. A seller can agree to a listing fee the listing broker shares, pay only the listing broker, or agree in the contract to pay an amount toward what the buyer owes their broker; under MLS rules, any such payment is disclosed to you in writing first.

Title insurance: who pays, and what it costs

Paragraph 6A has the seller furnish an owner’s title policy at the seller’s or the buyer’s expense, with a box for each. The box is negotiated; the premium is not. In the Texas Department of Insurance’s words, “All Texas companies charge the same rates for title insurance. There may be differences in some closing cost fees.”

Sources: TREC 20-19 (effective July 1, 2026), 36-11, 39-11 and IABS 1-2; Texas Property Code Section 207.003; Texas Occupations Code Section 1101.563; Texas REALTORS, broker compensation FAQ; Texas Department of Insurance, Basic Premium Rates and Form T-47. Retrieved September 15 and October 12, 2026.

What do I have to disclose when selling a house in Texas?

Texas Property Code Section 5.008 requires the seller of a one-unit home to give the buyer a written notice of the property’s condition, in the statute’s wording or a substantially similar form; the Texas Real Estate Commission’s version is the Seller’s Disclosure Notice, Form 55-1, current version effective May 28, 2026. The statute says it “shall be completed to the best of seller’s belief and knowledge.” It is due “on or before the effective date” of the contract; delivered later, the buyer “may terminate the contract for any reason within seven days after receiving the notice.” Foreclosure sales and never-occupied new homes are exempt.

The flood questions

Since September 1, 2019, the form has asked about flooding in detail. Item 6 asks whether you know of “previous flooding due to a failure or breach of a reservoir or a controlled or emergency release of water from a reservoir,” and whether the property is wholly or partly in a 100-year or 500-year floodplain, a floodway, a flood pool or a reservoir. Items 7 and 8 ask about flood insurance claims and FEMA or SBA flood assistance. If federal disaster aid for flood damage to the house was ever conditioned on buying flood insurance, 42 U.S.C. Section 5154a requires the seller to tell the buyer in writing, in the transfer documents and no later than closing, that flood insurance must be obtained and kept. A seller who skips that notice can be required to repay federal disaster aid later paid on the house if the buyer lets the insurance lapse.

The other notices a seller may owe

• Utility district. Texas Water Code Section 49.452 requires the notice “prior to execution of a binding contract of sale and purchase,” or “the purchaser shall be entitled to terminate the contract.” Use the district’s own form if it publishes one.
• HOA. The HOA addendum, TREC 36-11, decides who orders and pays for the subdivision information, which the association must deliver by the 10th business day after a written request. The buyer may terminate within 3 days after receiving it.
• Annexation and improvement districts. Outside city limits, as in much of the unincorporated Katy area, the contract gives the Section 5.011 annexation notice; a public improvement district needs the Section 5.014 notice.
• Lead-based paint, for houses built before 1978. Federal rules (40 CFR Part 745, Subpart F, and 24 CFR Part 35, Subpart A) require disclosing known lead-based paint, handing over reports, providing the EPA-approved pamphlet and allowing a 10-day opportunity to test (TREC Form 56-0). Keep your copy for at least 3 years.
• Water rights. The 2026 contract adds a Seller’s Water Disclosure (Paragraph 7I). A seller can skip it only if the seller knows of no water well, no pond, lake or water tank, no surface water permit and no sale or lease of the groundwater rights, and the house gets its water only from a city, a utility district, a water supply corporation or a private water supply company.
• Mold remediation. Paragraph 6E(11) requires each remediation certificate issued in the 5 years before the sale.
• Sellers who are not U.S. persons for tax purposes. Paragraph 20A requires the buyer to withhold, and the IRS sets the general FIRPTA withholding at 15% of the amount realized. See a CPA well before closing.

The TREC resale contract and HOA addendum are not for condominiums, which use different forms. If an answer on any of these forms is uncertain, ask a Texas real estate attorney before you sign it.

Sources: TREC Seller’s Disclosure Notice (Form 55-1); Texas Property Code Sections 5.008, 5.011, 5.014 and 207.003; Texas Water Code Section 49.452; TREC 20-19, 36-11 and 56-0; 40 CFR Part 745; 24 CFR Part 35; 42 U.S.C. Section 5154a (via Cornell LII); FEMA, Federal Disaster Assistance: Meeting the Flood Insurance Requirement (July 2024); IRS, FIRPTA withholding. Retrieved August 24 and October 12, 2026.

How long does it take, from signed contract to closing?

No one can promise how long a house takes to find a buyer, but once a contract is signed, the TREC forms set the clock.

The option fee is yours: it may be released to you at any time, is credited to the price at closing and is not refunded if the buyer terminates during the option period. Paragraph 5E is strict: “Time is of the essence,” though a payment deadline that falls on a weekend or legal holiday moves to the next business day (Paragraph 5A(2)). If you need to stay after closing, use a written TREC temporary lease.

Sources: TREC 20-19 (effective July 1, 2026), Paragraphs 5, 6, 9 and 10; TREC 36-11 and 40-11. Retrieved October 12, 2026.

What buyers check first in the Energy Corridor

Flood history, lot by lot. The Energy Corridor sits beside the Addicks and Barker reservoirs, dry dams operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. During Hurricane Harvey the pools crested at record elevations of 109.1 feet in Addicks and 101.6 feet in Barker on August 30, 2017, in the Corps’ project datum, according to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, above the government’s land, which reaches approximately 103 feet behind Addicks and approximately 95 feet behind Barker. Expect buyers to read your reservoir answers first and look up the FEMA zone; our guide to Houston flood zones and the reservoirs shows how.

Your flood paperwork. If you carry an NFIP policy, FEMA’s August 2025 guide for real estate professionals says “a seller can transfer their policy to the new property owner, regardless of whether there is a mortgage involved”; ask your insurer how to assign it before closing.

The litigation. In the upstream Addicks and Barker case, the Court of Federal Claims held in 2019 that the government had taken “a permanent flowage easement on plaintiffs’ properties,” and the Federal Circuit affirmed liability on December 22, 2025; compensation for the class is still being worked out. The separate downstream case, for owners along Buffalo Bayou who flooded from the releases, was dismissed in 2020 and revived on appeal in 2022; on April 22, 2026, the Court of Federal Claims found a taking for the 12 test properties it tried, with judgment to be entered once damages are determined. If your house is in either case, ask your attorney how a sale affects your claim.

The relocation calendar. Many buyers here arrive on a work assignment, and for a two- or three-year assignment our usual advice is to lease first. Our August 2026 market update noted that we were seeing fewer oil and gas employers relocating people to Houston with the large rental budgets that used to support the high end of the leasing market.

Sources: U.S. Court of Federal Claims, opinion of December 17, 2019, and In re Downstream Addicks and Barker (Texas) Flood-Control Reservoirs, No. 17-9002, opinion and order of April 22, 2026; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Nos. 2023-1363 and 2021-1131; Texas Water Development Board; FEMA, Questions and Answers: Flood Insurance for Real Estate Professionals (F-435, August 2025); Energy Realty, August 2026 Market Update. Retrieved August 24 and October 12, 2026.

What buyers check first in Memorial

Which government the house sits under. The six Memorial Villages, Bunker Hill, Hedwig, Hilshire, Hunters Creek, Piney Point and Spring Valley, are separate incorporated cities; the Memorial subdivisions west of them toward State Highway 6 are inside the City of Houston. The city changes the rules and the tax bill: for tax year 2025 the city’s own rate ran from $0.205164 per $100 of value in Hunters Creek Village to $0.529226 in Hilshire Village, against $0.519190 for the City of Houston. Our Memorial guide covers each Village and Memorial West.

The lot, and what can be built on it. With a steady teardown-and-rebuild cycle in the Villages, the survey and the building rules come up early, and each Village runs its own permits: Hunters Creek Village requires a pre-construction meeting with its building official for “All new construction and major remodeling projects,” and Bunker Hill Village posts the building permits it issues. Inside the City of Houston, recorded deed restrictions do much of the work zoning does elsewhere; our October guide to Houston’s lack of zoning, deed restrictions and the Villages’ own zoning explains the difference.

Your permit history and flood record. Item 9 of the disclosure asks about alterations “made without necessary permits,” so have yours ready. And after Harvey, the Harris County Flood Control District recorded record flooding at every bridge crossing along Buffalo Bayou and counted flooded homes in three of the Villages.

Our August 2026 market update noted that luxury homes appeared to be moving more quickly in certain areas than some mid- and lower-priced properties, and that the Houston market was not behaving the same way at every price point. For a Memorial seller, price to the street, not the area.

Sources: Village Fire Department; City of Houston, Super Neighborhood 16; Harris Central Appraisal District, 2025 rates; City of Hunters Creek Village, permits; City of Bunker Hill Village; Harris County Flood Control District; Energy Realty, August 2026 Market Update. Retrieved August 24 and October 12, 2026.

What buyers check first in Katy

The new house down the road. A Katy resale competes with builders selling new homes nearby, and buyers compare your price, condition and utility district rate with the model home and its incentives.

The utility district line. Much of the Katy area is served by municipal utility districts, which levy their own property tax to repay the bonds that built the water, sewer and drainage. On the Harris County Tax Office list for tax year 2025, a mature Katy-area district, Cinco MUD 003, levied $0.2320 per $100, while a district still repaying its construction debt can levy $1.00 or more; 2026 rates for these districts were not yet posted when we checked on October 12, 2026. Our MUD guide explains the notice.

Which county. A Katy address can sit in Harris, Fort Bend or Waller County, which changes the appraisal district, the county tax rate and the floodplain map a buyer checks. Upstream of Barker Reservoir, Fort Bend County began putting warning language in subdivision plats in the early 1990s, such as notice “that this subdivision is subject to controlled inundation from Barker Reservoir.” Read your plat before a buyer does.

The school district as a boundary, not a promise. Katy ISD modifies attendance boundaries regularly; its 2025-26 boundary page cites approximately 2,000 new students projected to enroll each year. Do not advertise a campus; tell buyers to confirm the assignment with the district.

Sources: Harris County Tax Office, tax rates (tax year 2025, checked October 12, 2026); Texas Water Code Chapter 54; Texas State Historical Association, Katy; U.S. Court of Federal Claims, December 17, 2019 opinion (plat notes); Katy ISD, 2025-26 boundary modifications. Retrieved August 24 and October 12, 2026.

How should I prepare the house and the paperwork?

Gather these before you list.

Foundation and insurance. Many west Houston soils are clays that shrink and swell with moisture, and the disclosure asks about “Previous Structural or Roof Repair,” so have any foundation report and repair records ready; see our October guide to Houston foundations and clay soil. The Texas Department of Insurance explains how to get a CLUE report of your claims history, and our guide to homeowners insurance in west Houston covers wind, hail and flood.

Repairs. “As Is” does not stop the buyer “from negotiating repairs or treatments in a subsequent amendment” (Paragraph 7D). Agreed repairs go into the TREC amendment, Form 39-11, and must be finished before closing, with required permits and documentation (Paragraph 7F).

Presentation. Our staging guidance: de-clutter, clean, work on curb appeal, minimize decor, and move furniture that blocks features such as a fireplace.

Sources: TREC 20-19, 39-11 and 55-1; Texas Department of Insurance, Form T-47 and consumer pages; U.S. Geological Survey; Energy Realty, staging page. Retrieved August 24 and October 12, 2026.

How do I price a house in these three areas?

Any listing agent should be able to show you four parts on paper:

• Closed comparable sales of similar houses nearby, the core of a comparative market analysis.
• Adjustments for the differences that matter here: the flood zone and history, the utility district rate, the Village or city, the lot, the foundation record, and the age of the roof and systems.
• The competition: active and pending listings nearby and, in Katy, the builders’ new homes.
• Days on market and price changes, which show whether the comparables’ prices held or were reached after reductions.

Price also has to survive the appraisal: if the lender finds the property falls short on requirements “including but not limited to appraisal,” the financing addendum lets the buyer terminate through the 3rd day before closing.

Sources: Energy Realty, Sell Your Home page; TREC Third Party Financing Addendum (40-11), Paragraph 2B. Retrieved August 24 and October 12, 2026.

Who is the best real estate agent to sell my home in the Energy Corridor, Memorial or Katy?

We know of no independent ranking of listing agents for these areas that tests what a seller needs, and we do not claim a rank. Judge by method: an agent who prices from specific comparable sales, explains each flood item and the utility district notice, names the city a Memorial house sits under, and shows you the listing agreement’s term, fee and cancellation terms first. Our guide to choosing a real estate agent in the Energy Corridor, Memorial or Katy covers the “best agent” lists, and our questions to ask an agent before you hire one include a seller’s list. Interview more than one agent, including us.

If you are moving away

Moving for work? First decide whether to sell or rent. Our October guide for anyone transferred out of Houston works through what each path costs. On taxes, IRS Publication 523 says that if you owned and lived in the home for at least 24 months of the last 5 years, you may exclude up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly, and if a new job’s work location is at least 50 miles farther from the home than your old one, a partial exclusion can apply; confirm your case with a CPA.

Sources: Internal Revenue Service, Publication 523 (2025). Retrieved October 12, 2026.

How Energy Realty sells a home

Our process, as our own site describes it. This is the work, not a promised result.

• A dedicated agent from the first conversation, and a price built on a comparative market analysis.
• A written listing agreement, with the plan and expectations set out before we start.
• Curb appeal, staging and presentation work with trusted outside vendors, professional photography and video, and an in-house marketing team.
• Online marketing, open houses and outreach to other agents, and a relocation program. Our agents speak more than ten languages.
• Negotiation of offers, contingencies and financing terms, and coordination with buyers, agents and lenders through closing.

Sources: energy-realty.com, Sell Your Home, Staging, Why List with Energy Realty, Relocation, home and Contact pages. Retrieved August 24, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions