What No One Tells You About Buying Real Estate in San Antonio

San Antonio is home to all the best parts of Texas living, with its iconic River Walk, the Alamo, and beautiful, wide-open spaces. Whether you're a San Antonio native or you're moving in from out of the state, it may be a surprise to find that San Antonio is also home to affordable houses near all your favorite parts of the city. You can enjoy balmy summer days on quarter-acre estates in the Hidden Canyon neighborhood, find new constructions near popular schools for under $300,000, or wind down your day in a custom-designed house in San Antonio's historic downtown. There's something for everyone, and Beth Lockwood is here to help you find the right property for your budget, style, and lifestyle. Start developing your strategy of what to look for when buying a home in San Antonio, TX, by understanding some secrets of the market.

Texas, as a whole, has experienced a very turbulent market over the past few years, making prices in areas like Dallas and Austin skyrocket beyond what many prospective buyers can afford. But San Antonio still has a great balance of affordable homes and economic growth. It's a popular, economically strong market, and the typical home price is still approachable — with a median price of $320,500 compared to a national average of $366,733. Homeowners are still seeing plenty of equity growth, with a typical gain of $81,700 across the past three years and nearly double that over the past nine years. The market forecast continues to be positive across San Antonio and the surrounding area.

If you're new to Texas, you may have a few questions about taxes. Texas doesn't have a personal state income tax, which can be a relief. But that means local governments get their funding from property taxes. Property taxes include city, county, and school district taxes. The San Antonio city levy is 0.54% (or 54.161 cents per $100), and the full average property tax rate is approximately 2.35% across Bexar County.

Working with a lender early in your home search can help. They'll configure property taxes, home insurance, and other escrow-related costs into your home-buying budget so you have a clear idea of what homes you can comfortably afford. Your realtor can suggest a few lenders if you aren't already working with one. They can also customize your home search to focus on homes in that ideal price range.

When you're buying real estate, it's important to consider all the costs adjacent to the home, not just the property itself. San Antonio has a cost of living that is 8% less than the national average, with double-digit percentage savings in housing, utilities, and groceries. Expect reasonable gasoline, heating and cooling, and food prices all around the city. The only area where San Antonio is higher than the national average is in healthcare — with a small 2% increase compared to other cities across the United States.

Even if you're used to Texas, it can be a little surprising just how pleasant San Antonio winters can be. Expect daily highs in the 60s all season long, with monthly highs of 64° F, 62° F, 67° F, and 74° F across December through March, and average lows that never reach below 39° F. You can enjoy the outdoors all winter long, whether you want to eat outdoors on the River Walk or you want to jog at Brackenridge Park. If you love spending time outside, you can also customize your home search to focus on properties with a luxury outdoor living space, so you can invite guests over to your full open-air kitchen or relax on a sprawling backyard patio.

In 2023, the coldest recorded temperature was 31° F, so even sudden cold snaps that disrupt the pleasantly brisk weather are pretty rare.

Prices in San Antonio are affordable, and there are plenty of options. This means, unlike in many other Texas markets, you get to choose what to look for when buying a home in San Antonio, TX — you don't have to compete for whatever is available in the upper tiers of your budget. So you can look for a new construction, a move-in ready home, a fixer-upper that you can customize to your liking — the possibilities are endless.

You can buy and start remodeling a house to become your dream home without losing money. Several types of remodeling projects are all the rage in San Antonio, and they can easily fetch a positive ROI so you can both enjoy the renovations while you live there and anticipate a boost in sellability down the line. Some of the most popular types of projects with a great ROI include:

• Outdoor constructions: A wooden floating deck or a composite deck can last for years while expanding the usable square footage of your home.
• Energy-efficient upgrades: New windows, garage doors, and entry doors can make your home look great and give it extra insulation so cool air stays inside.

If you want to own a home that's great from the start but that you can also modify to suit your style, San Antonio is the place to be.

Communities like DFW and Austin get a lot of attention for bringing in businesses, but San Antonio also has a bustling economy that's holding strong. Texas's favorite grocery store — H-E-B — is headquartered in San Antonio. But so are national and international companies like Valero Energy USAA, Frost Bank, iHeartMedia, Andeavor, and Harte Hanks.

So not only are you going to be buying real estate in a market with a strong job market now, but those benefits aren't likely to disappear anytime soon.

San Antonio has 505 square miles of beautiful real estate and attractions, and Beth Lockwood can help you start searching for the perfect home. Reach out today to talk about what you're looking for, and she can create a customized home search to give you a tour of the town's best homes.