THE TEMPS OUTSIDE are hotter than ever, but is Houston’s scorching real estate market finally cooling off? As a return to a balanced market, in which neither the buyer nor the seller has a big advantage, approaches, here’s a closer look at the record-high prices roller-coaster inventory.

Go Wilde

Vaulted ceilings with century-old beams at 402 Timberwilde

The priciest public listing in Texas is a Memorial mansion — five bedrooms, eight bathrooms and 11,200 square feet — built by Iraj Taghi in 1995 and recently fully renovated. With a price tag of $17.5 million, the property at 402 Timberwilde sits on two and a half acres, and has an impossible quantity of marble in the beautiful chef’s kitchen, and amenities like a game room, gym and full-size tennis court.

'Stable' Market

The lavish formal dining room of 8843 Harness Creek Ln.

A sprawling home in the exclusive enclave of Stablewood is among the most expensive homes sold in Houston this year. Literally made for entertaining, the 20,000-square-foot property at 8843 Harness Creek Ln. has a two-story ballroom, a closet for china and silver, and, surprisingly, just four bedrooms. Listed for $13.9 mil, it sold in less than three months for just under $10 mil.

Hunters Paradise

The Lodge in Hunters Creek

The Lodge in Hunters Creek is currently the most expensive off-market listing in Texas, up for private sale via Icon Global. The $60 million moated complex is situated on a nine-acre swath of land straddling Buffalo Bayou and Houston Country Club, and has a 22,000-square-foot mansion and a 3,500-square-foot guest house — plus a massive garage, pool, cabana and more amenities to be seen on an invitation-only basis. “I expect to show it less than a half dozen times,” says Icon Global owner Bernard Uechtritz of the secluded property, which can’t be viewed on HAR and has very few photos available to protect the owners’ privacy.