Real estate agents in McAllen

Anyone acting as a broker or sales agent in Texas needs a TREC license. A sales agent must work under a licensed broker's sponsorship, and the broker answers for all brokerage activity. Agents complete 180 classroom hours, a background check and an exam; brokers need four years of active experience within the prior 60 months.

At the first substantive talk about a specific property, the agent must give you the Information About Brokerage Services notice. The current form is IABS 1-2, effective January 1, 2026, and brokers and agents must link to it from their website homepage. Every license holder must also provide TREC's Consumer Protection Notice. Agents owe their client a duty to put that client's interests above their own.

Your agreement with the broker sets the commission, and TREC doesn't regulate it. If you only want to tour homes, a broker can show them under a non-exclusive showing agreement of no more than 14 days without representing you. TREC can't make a broker release you from a buyer agreement, so read the term and exit terms before you sign.

Most resale offers use TREC's One to Four Family Residential Contract, form 20-19, effective July 1, 2026. Earnest money and the option fee go to the escrow agent within 3 days of the effective date. If you end the deal within the option period you lose the option fee but get the earnest money back. The seller of a single-dwelling home owes you a written Seller's Disclosure Notice; if it arrives after the contract is signed, you may terminate within seven days.

For pricing context, the Texas Real Estate Research Center put the statewide median at $339,000 in July 2026, unchanged from a year earlier. Texas is a non-disclosure state, so sale prices aren't reported to appraisal districts. The Texas real estate guide has more.

Texas has no state property tax or state income tax. McAllen is in Hidalgo County, and the county appraisal district values property as of January 1 each year. Apply there for a homestead exemption, generally before May 1. Under Tax Code amendments effective November 4, 2025, school districts must give a $140,000 residence homestead exemption, plus $60,000 more for owners 65 or older or disabled; confirm what applies to your home with the Hidalgo County appraisal district. A protest is generally due by May 15 or 30 days after the appraisal notice, whichever is later, and bills are due by January 31 of the next year.

Hidalgo County isn't among the 14 coastal counties in TWIA's windstorm coverage area; check the address on TDI's windstorm map and ask your insurer before you close. Confirm tax and contract questions with a licensed Texas real estate broker or tax adviser.

See the McAllen guide, line up McAllen movers, or compare realtors in Brownsville.