Texas • Licensed mortgage broker • NMLS 2752340

Texas mortgage broker

Wholesale rates for Texas — including the A6 home equity rules everyone else gets wrong.

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40+ wholesale lender partnersNo SSN at quoteNo hard credit pullSoft pull rate quote

HomePilot is a licensed Texas mortgage broker. Texas has the most distinctive cash-out refinance rules in the country (the constitutional A6 / Article XVI Section 50(a)(6) home-equity rules), and most retail loan officers from out-of-state lenders get them wrong. We don't. We work with 40+ wholesale lender partners, all of which we've vetted for proper Texas A6 origination, plus the standard purchase, conventional refi, FHA, VA, and jumbo programs. Wholesale-channel rates run 0.25-0.5% below retail on most scenarios — meaningful in a state with already-high property taxes eating into your PITI.

2026 conforming limit
$806,500
FHA limit (Travis)
$571,550
Varies by county
Median home price
$340,000
Statewide rolling 12-mo
Property tax rate
1.60%
No state income tax

The Texas housing market, in brief

Texas is the second-largest housing market in the country and one of the fastest-growing. Median home price is around $340,000 — meaningfully below the national median, partly because Texas has built more housing per capita than any other large state. Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Fort Worth metros have wide ranges (Austin median around $530K vs. San Antonio around $310K). The headline trade-off: Texas has no state income tax (a big draw for high-earner migrants from California, New York, and Illinois) but the highest effective property tax rate of the five states we operate in (~1.6% statewide average). On a $340K home that's roughly $5,400/year — meaningful, but the income-tax savings often more than make up for it. Builder-paid 2/1 buydowns are extremely common on new-construction inventory in Texas (use our buydown calculator to evaluate).

Loan programs we originate in Texas

Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC) and Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) run the two main statewide first-time-buyer DPA programs. TSAHC's Homes for Texas Heroes (teachers, first responders, military) and Home Sweet Texas Home Loan Program both offer DPA grants up to 5% of the loan amount. TDHCA's My First Texas Home program layers on Mortgage Credit Certificates (MCCs) for additional federal tax savings. Local DPA programs in major metros (City of Houston, City of Dallas, City of Austin, El Paso, San Antonio) layer on top. We work with the wholesale lenders that fund all of these.

Texas first-time-buyer programs

We work with the wholesale lenders that fund every major Texas down-payment-assistance program — meaning the DPA stacks on top of our wholesale-channel rate, not in place of it.

Top metros we serve in Texas

We’re licensed across Texas — every county. Most of our volume comes from these metros:

HoustonDallasAustinSan AntonioFort WorthEl PasoArlingtonPlano

Run the numbers for Texas.

Free calculators with the Texas loan limits and property-tax rate already factored in.

Mortgage payment
Full PITI + amortization
Open
Temp buydown
3/2/1, 2/1, 1/1, 1/0
Open
Affordability
Max purchase price
Open
Refi break-even
When it pays off
Open

Texas mortgage FAQ

What is the Texas A6 home equity rule?↓

Article XVI, Section 50(a)(6) of the Texas Constitution governs cash-out refinances on homestead property. Key rules: (1) the loan can't exceed 80% of fair market value, (2) once a loan becomes A6, every subsequent cash-out refi on that home is also A6 — even if you take no cash out (the 'once A6, always A6' rule), (3) there are required disclosures, a 12-day cooling-off period, and limits on fees, and (4) some lenders refuse to originate or refinance A6 loans at all. We have wholesale partners that handle A6 cleanly and quote A6-aware pricing upfront.

Why are Texas property taxes so high?↓

Texas has no state income tax, so the state funds most public services through property taxes (and sales tax). Effective rate averages about 1.6% statewide — over double the rate in Arizona or Colorado. On a $340,000 home that's roughly $5,400 per year vs. $2,100 in AZ. The Texas Homestead Exemption ($100K reduction in school-district assessed value as of 2023) and a 10% annual assessment-cap on owner-occupied homes blunt this somewhat for primary residences. Always factor the property tax escrow into your PITI when comparing TX to other states.

Can I get a no-state-income-tax advantage on my Texas mortgage?↓

Indirectly, yes. With no state income tax, more of your gross income translates to take-home pay than in a state like California or New York. That means you can qualify for a higher loan amount on the same gross income (up to your DTI ceiling). The trade-off is the higher property tax burden, so we model your full PITI side-by-side when borrowers are migrating from a high-income-tax state.

Are Texas builder buydowns common?↓

Extremely. National builders (D.R. Horton, Lennar, KB Home, Pulte, Meritage, Toll Brothers, M/I Homes, Taylor Morrison) routinely advertise 2/1 buydowns or 3/2/1 buydowns on new-construction inventory across Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and El Paso. The buydown is funded by the builder as a closing-cost concession. Use our buydown calculator to compare it against an equivalent price reduction — sometimes the buydown is better, sometimes the price cut wins.

What FHA loan limits apply in Texas?↓

FHA limits in Texas vary by county. The 2026 limits range from the national floor of ~$524K in most rural counties up to about $571,550 in Travis County (Austin), with similar limits in Collin and Denton counties (DFW north). Houston-area Harris County is around $498K. We pull the exact county FHA limit when we quote — borrowers above their county's FHA cap typically qualify for conventional with 5% down instead.

Are USDA loans available in Texas?↓

Yes — USDA Rural Development zero-down loans are available across much of Texas outside the major metros. Surprising amounts of suburban Texas qualify (parts of Bastrop, Hays, Comal, Wise, Parker, Williamson counties for example). Type your specific address into the USDA eligibility lookup before assuming. Income limits apply (generally 115% of area median income), but USDA is one of the most under-used programs in Texas because borrowers don't realize their target home is eligible.

Ready to see your real Texas number?

Three minutes. Soft pull only. Wholesale-channel pricing for Texas buyers and refinancers.

Get my real quote(800) 835-4177

We’re also licensed in

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