It’s summer in San Antonio. After a marvelously green spring, the weather has turned typically hot and dry.
Does the Alamo City’s residential realty market match the weather? The answer is yes and no. Homes sales around the area’s Air Force Bases are hot, but the market isn’t in any sense dry.
During the first months of this year, home sales activity was very healthy, leading many realty analysts to believe that San Antonio has fully recovered from the minimal home sales downturn experienced during the recent great national recession.
Now, in early June, key residential realty market indicators are all exceptionally positive for the Alamo City, surrounding communities, and especially near Randolph and Lackland Air Force Bases and Fort Sam Houston.
Specifically, compared to June 2011:
Pending home sales are up 11%
List prices are up 6.7%
Latest closed sale prices are up 7%
The median sales price for the most recently closed homes is up 5%
So, why is San Antonio’s residential realty market so vibrant this year?
Because of its solid economic and demographic foundations, San Antonio remains one of the nation’s bright spots for home ownership and rental investments. Affordable mortgage availability is high for those who can qualify, mortgage interest rates are historically low, and the area continues to receive an influx of retiree families, job seekers, and joint services military and corporate relocation buyers eager to take advantage of San Antonio’s well priced homes. Significantly, ongoing development of the nearby Eagle Ford Oil Shale Field is infusing previously unimagined money and manpower into the area.
What does such good news mean for home sellers and buyers?
The area’s months long home buyers’ market is essentially dead. The residential listing inventory is relatively low and homes are selling well, particularly in the moderately to higher priced subdivisions in San Antonio’s north, northeast, and northwest sectors.
The advantage goes to sellers willing to beat out the competition by expending the resources needed to put their homes in prime market condition.
Both buyers and sellers should keep this in mind. Those willing to negotiate realistically based on San Antonio’s market realities are the ones most likely to leave the closing table the most satisfied.
That’s all for our June 2012 San Antonio realty market report for the San Antonio Air Force community. We encourage reader comments and recommendations about how to make our reports more informative and useful.
We’re Stephanie and Randy Kelley, Realtors® at Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions, need San Antonio realty or mortgage loan advice or assistance, or just want to chat a bit about our wonderful Alamo City, please call us at (210) 863-2661 or (210) 867-8743, or E-mail us at swkrealtor@aol.com or kelleybus@aol.com. Our SanAntonioHomeQuest.com Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs.