The Waco market, by the numbers
From our own transaction records and HUD data for Waco ZIP codes.
Updated 2026-09-18.
Waco · TX
3 bed / 1 bathTypical home we buy
1,374 sq ftMedian size
1973Median year built
5ZIP codes we buy in
The typical Waco home we look at was built in 1973, which means roof age, original electrical, and HVAC are the items that most often blow up a retail contract after inspection. We buy those as-is and price the repairs into the offer instead of asking you to make them.
If it is sound and you can wait, list it
We will tell you that on the first call. A clean, structurally sound house with 60-90 days of patience usually nets more on the open market even after commissions.
New construction competes with your resale
Population growth means retail buyers exist — and it means builders are discounting down the road. A dated house is being shopped against an incentive package, which is why it sits.
ZIP codes we buy in around Waco
7670576706767077670876710
That is 5 ZIP codes across Waco — including 76705, 76706, 76707 and 76708. Not listed? We still look at it — Texas deals outside these ZIPs come through regularly.
What the Waco market is doing right now
Whole-market figures for every Waco ZIP code we buy in, from the Restar
housing database · August 2026. These are not our numbers — they cover every sale in the ZIP, not
just ours.
Waco · TX · live market
$250,891Median sale price · +7.0% yr/yr
56 daysDays on market · -8.0 days yr/yr
$165Price per sq ft
144Homes listed for sale · -3.4% yr/yr
$1,390/moMedian rent
0.96Sale-to-list ratio
Listings in Waco are moving faster than a year ago — a median of 56 days to go under contract, 8 days quicker, and that is only the clock until it goes under contract — a financed buyer then needs another 30 to 45 days to close, assuming their loan holds. If the house is in retail condition and you are not against a deadline, listing it is a real option and we will say so.
Houses here are closing at a median 0.96 of asking price, so the list price sellers start at is not the number they end at. Factor that into any comparison between a cash offer and what an agent projects you will net.
Median rent of $1,390 against a median sale price of $250,891 is a gross yield near 6.6%. That is the honest reason we can pay cash in Waco: many of these houses work as rentals for us, so we are not dependent on reselling quickly.
Source: Restar (restar.io) housing database,
built from public records and MLS-derived feeds. A dash means that ZIP has no published figure for
that measure this month.
Waco inside McLennan County
Where a market sits relative to its county tells you which buyers can afford it and how
long they take to commit. Here is McLennan County against the Waco ZIP codes specifically.
The Waco ZIP codes we buy in run 14% below the McLennan County median of $293,019. That gap is the reason a countywide price per square foot is useless for pricing your house, and it is why our offers are underwritten by ZIP.
Time on market differs too: a median of 56 days in the Waco ZIP codes against 62 days across McLennan County.
County-wide, the median sale price is +3.9% against a year ago.
County figures from the Restar housing database; the Waco column is the
median across the ZIP codes listed above. Income is the most recent Census estimate.
What we actually buy in Waco
Waco runs about 15% below McLennan County on price - a median sale near $251,000 across the five ZIP codes we buy in against $293,000 countywide - because those ZIP codes are the older city rather than the newer edges. The typical house we look at here was built in 1973.
Time on market is a median of 56 days, six days faster than the county, and it has improved by roughly eight days over the year. Values are flat. This is a normal market, and on a normal house an agent will beat our number.
The Waco-specific issue is the one that comes with a city that has had a long renovation boom: a large share of the older stock has been partially worked on. Half-finished flips, permits pulled and never closed, and additions that were never inspected are common, and an open permit will stop a title company in Texas before it stops the buyer. We buy with open permits in place because we are not borrowing against the house.
Texas closings run through a title company and prorated property taxes are a bigger line at closing here than sellers expect, since the state funds itself that way. Ask any buyer to show you the proration before you compare offers.
What it costs to sell a house in Waco
We do not yet publish a recorded-sales median for Waco, so this is expressed as
rates rather than dollars — we would rather show you a true percentage than a made-up
price. Multiply by whatever your house is worth.
How to work out your net proceeds in Waco
Net proceeds = sale price − mortgage payoff − closing costs
− commissions − repairs and concessions
On a Texas listing that is roughly 7.5 to 9.5 per cent of the
price gone before the payoff comes out. A cash offer starts below retail but carries none of
those five deductions, which is why the two routes land closer together than the headline
numbers suggest.
Customary rates, not a quote on your property. Commission is
negotiable, and county and municipal add-ons vary within Texas. See
the full cash offer versus listing
comparison.
How a closing actually works in Texas
Texas closings run through a title company, and the state has no income tax but comparatively high property tax, so prorations at closing are a bigger line than sellers expect. Note that we do not currently text into Texas — see the note in our SMS Terms.
On our side the sequence is the same every time: title search, payoff figures ordered on
any existing mortgage, liens and municipal balances identified, then funds and deed recorded.
Nothing about a cash sale skips title work — what it skips is the lender, the appraisal
and the financing contingency, which is where most retail contracts on Waco houses
actually die.
General information about how these transactions typically proceed, not
legal or tax advice. Your closing agent or attorney is the authority on your specific file.
What Texas law requires when you sell
Every row below is a statute rather than our opinion, and each one links to the primary
source so you can check it yourself. These are also the items that most often delay a closing
in Waco.
Disclosure
Texas requires a written Seller's Disclosure Notice on most sales of a single dwelling unit, delivered on or before the effective date of the contract. Estates, foreclosures and transfers between co-owners are exempt.
Transfer tax
Texas also has no state income tax. The cost that does bite here is property tax proration, because the rates are among the highest in the country.
Who closes the file
Texas closings are conducted by a title company and no attorney is required. The title company runs the search, issues the policy and disburses funds.
Tax on the gain
Texas has no state income tax, so only federal capital gains rules apply. Federally, the primary-residence exclusion shelters up to $250,000 of
gain if you are single and $500,000 if you are married filing jointly, provided you owned and
lived in the house for two of the last five years — see
IRS Topic 701. An
inherited property takes a stepped-up basis at the date of death, which usually means little
or no taxable gain if you sell soon after.
General information about Texas practice, current as of
2026-09-18. It is not legal or tax advice, and rates set at county or municipal level vary
within the state. Your closing agent, attorney or CPA is the authority on your file.
Our offer versus listing it in Waco
Listing timelines are typical rather than measured; commission is the customary 6% and varies by agreement.
Three days to change your mind
If you accept an offer, you have three days after signing to walk away for any reason
at all, with nothing owed and no explanation needed. We would rather lose a deal than
have someone feel cornered into one.
Sometimes you should not sell to us
If the house is in good shape and you are not in a hurry, listing it will almost
always net you more than we can offer. That is not us being modest — we buy at a
discount because we take on the repairs, the carrying costs and the risk.
We will tell you when that is your situation. It is a faster conversation for both of
us than pretending otherwise.
Why Waco sellers call us
Most people who reach out are not shopping for the highest number — they are solving
something with a deadline attached. These pages cover what changes in each case:
A sale date does not have to mean a foreclosure on your record.
We buy through probate and can wait for the letters.
A clean date and a clean split of the proceeds.
Occupied is fine. You do not have to remove anyone first.
These get paid out of the proceeds at closing.
Fire, water, structural — we price it, you do not repair it.
Who you will be dealing with
Trevor McAmis
Owner & Acquisitions Lead, Restar Acquisitions. (313) 710-6129 · More about us
Every offer on this site is underwritten by a person, not a form. If the
numbers do not work for you, say so and I will tell you what would.
Other Texas markets we buy in
We buy across Texas, not just Waco. Each of these has its own sale prices, ZIP breakdown and rent data published the same way:
Common questions from Waco sellers
- My house is dated but not damaged. Should I just list it?
- Possibly, and we will say so. If it is structurally sound, clean, and you can wait 60-90 days and pay commissions, the open market usually nets more. We are the better answer when it needs work you cannot fund or you need a date you can rely on.
- Do you buy houses with an HOA?
- Yes. We pull the estoppel and any unpaid dues or violations get settled at closing.
- What is the transfer tax when I sell a house in Texas?
- There is not one. None — Texas levies no real estate transfer tax. Texas also has no state income tax. The cost that does bite here is property tax proration, because the rates are among the highest in the country.
- Do I need an attorney to close in Texas?
- No. Texas closings are conducted by a title company and no attorney is required. The title company runs the search, issues the policy and disburses funds.
- What do I have to disclose when selling a house in Texas?
- Texas requires a written Seller's Disclosure Notice on most sales of a single dwelling unit, delivered on or before the effective date of the contract. Estates, foreclosures and transfers between co-owners are exempt. The citation is Tex. Prop. Code § 5.008. Selling as-is does not remove the obligation — it changes who pays for the repair, not whether you have to mention it.
- How much does it cost to sell a house in Waco?
- Between about 7.5% and 9.5% of the sale price on the listing route: roughly 5.5% in agent commission, $1,500 to $2,500 in title and settlement fees, about 1% in buyer concessions and 1% or more in pre-listing repairs. A cash sale to us carries none of it.
- What percentage of my home's value will a cash buyer offer?
- There is no fixed percentage, and any buyer quoting one before seeing the property is guessing. The offer is after-repair value, minus repairs, minus holding and resale costs, minus the buyer's margin. Repairs is the line that moves most: a house needing only cosmetics lands far higher than one needing a roof and mechanicals. Ask any buyer to walk you through all four lines on your specific property.
- Can I sell if I owe more than the house is worth?
- Sometimes, through a short sale, but that needs your lender's written approval and takes months rather than days. We will tell you on the first call if that is what you are looking at, rather than let you find out two weeks in.
- Can I really sell my house as-is?
- Yes. We buy in any condition — no repairs, no cleaning, no staging — and you can leave behind anything you do not want. As-is changes who pays for the work, not what you are required to disclose about it.
- What does a 'cash offer' actually mean?
- That the purchase is funded without a mortgage, so there is no lender, no appraisal and no financing contingency. That is the whole of the advantage: financing falling through is the most common reason a residential sale collapses, and it cannot happen on a cash purchase.
- How do I know your offer is fair?
- Check it against the recorded sales published on this page and against the four-line calculation above it. We show you the comps the number came from. If listing would net you more, we will say so — that conversation is faster for both of us than the alternative.
- What fees or commissions will I pay?
- None. There is no agent commission, no listing fee, and we cover standard closing costs. The number on the offer is what you net, minus any existing mortgage payoff or liens.
- Am I obligated to accept the offer?
- No. The offer is written, free, and yours to walk away from. We would rather you compare it against a listing than feel pushed into it.
- Written offer within 24 hours
- Any condition — no repairs, no cleaning
- No commissions; we cover standard closing costs
- You pick the closing date
Get my cash offer →
Takes about two minutes. Or call
(313) 710-6129 — we answer.
