Things To Know About San Antonio
November 28, 2007 | 1 Comment
Location Characteristics: San Antonio, Texas
(from Wilkipedia)
San Antonio is the second-most populous city in the state of Texas after Houston and seventh-most populated in the United States. As of the 2005 U.S. Census estimate, the city had a population of over 1.2 million. Its eight-county metropolitan area has a population of over 1.8 million, the twenty-ninth most-populated metro area in the United States. San Antonio, which is the county seat of Bexar County, covers over 400 square miles on the northern edge of the South Texas region and southeast of the Texas Hill Country.
San Antonio was named for the Portuguese Saint Anthony of Padua, whose feast day it was when a Spanish expedition stopped in the area in 1691. The city has a strong military presence—it is home to Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base, Randolph Air Force Base, and Brooks City-Base. San Antonio is home to the South Texas Medical Center, the largest and only medical research and care provider in the South Texas region.
Famous for its River Walk, the Alamo, Tejano culture, and being home to SeaWorld and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks, the city is visited by 20 million tourists per year. San Antonio is also home to the first museum of Modern Art in Texas—the Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum.
Nickname: “Alamo City; River City”
Location in the state of Texas
Coordinates: 29°32?01.3?N, 98°28?11.2?W
Counties Bexar County
- Mayor Phil Hardberger
Area
- City 1067.3 km² (412.1 sq mi)
- Land 1,055.6 km² (407.6 sq mi)
- Water 11.7 km² (4.5 sq mi)
Elevation 198 m (650 ft)
Population (2005)
- City 1,256,509
- Density 1,084.4/km² (2,808.5/sq mi)
- Metro 1,889,797
Time zone Central (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST) Central (UTC-5)
Website: www.sanantonio.gov
Want to know about San Antonio realty ownership opportunities. Visit SanAntonioHomeQuest.com, a very user friendly site for finding information about real estate listings, things to do in San Antonio, local weather, & military bases.
November 2007 San Antonio Realty Market Report
November 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment
This is typically the slow season for San Antonio realty sales. Usually, during fall and early winter, sales are slow, inventory rises, and prices drop. This year is no exception, however the price and inventory drops haven’t been particularly dramatic. Basically, the market is relatively stable and only weakly favors buyers.
Although not totally immune to national realty market trends, San Antonio has, so far, been only minimally influenced by the country’s mortgage market mess and realty market down turn. Currently, San Antonio’s buyers and sellers are both in relatively good positions. Although resale homes continue to hold much of their value, a buyer can still get a good deal, especially in the new home market where builders are eager to sell their inventory before the end of the year. Although new home builders won’t usually haggle on price, they might throw in additional incentives to move a property.
In December, the situation might change more dramatically in favor of buyers. It’s too early to tell.
Here are the market stats for San Antonio single-family detached home listings as of 20 November 2007.
active listings: 12269 - stable - neutral for buyers and sellers, except for new construction homes, where the advantage goes to the buyer
average list price for most recent sales: $185,047 decreasing gradually - good for buyers
average sale price for most recent sales: $178,448 decreasing gradually - good for buyers
average days on the market for most recent sales: 74 and increasing - good for buyers
If you have questions, need San Antonio area realty or mortgage advice or assistance, or just want to chat, please call or send an E-mail. The SanAntonioHomeQuest.com Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home ownership needs.
The SanAntonioHomeQuest.com Realty Solutions Team
Stephanie & Randy Kelley & Jennifer Gill
Realtors®
Legacy Group - Keller Williams
(800) 201-9145 or (210) 867-8743 or (210) 863-2661
October 2007 San Antonio Realty Market Report
October 5, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Like the weather, San Antonio’s realty “hot season” typically ends in September. Starting in October, falling leaves and falling temperatures will likely be accompanied by falling home sales and lower prices.
This year’s sales are already trailing behind the 2006 record year. Nonetheless, while the available inventory of new and resale homes has risen rapidly, closed sale prices have remained remarkably steady. Granted, the market for resale homes is sluggish as buyers take their time selecting from an unusually large active listings inventory. A telling indicator of the market’s sluggishness is a recent 9.3% increase in expired and withdrawn listings.
On the brighter side, while resale homes are selling at snail speed, new construction home sales are bunny brisk, spurred on by enticing carrots (buyer incentives) offered by the builders.
Keep this in mind. Driven by excellent job growth and low unemployment, San Antonio remains one of the strongest housing markets in the nation, and, home values continue to appreciate at a moderate, but steady, pace - a fact appreciated by both buyers and sellers.
Although the fall and winter months ahead might test its resiliency, local analysts are confident that, barring unforeseen factors, San Antonio’s realty market will survive the expected seasonal cool down and come back strong in the spring.
Here are the market stats for San Antonio single-family detached home listings as of 9 October 2007.
active listings: 12333 - stable - neutral for buyers and sellers, except for new construction homes, where the advantage goes to the buyer
average list price for most recent sales: $195,103 - stable - neutral for buyers and sellers
average sale price for most recent sales: $188,203 - stable - neutral for buyers and sellers
average days on the market for most recent sales: 69 - increasing - good for buyers
If you have questions, need San Antonio area realty or mortgage advice or assistance, or just want to chat, please call or send an E-mail. The SanAntonioHomeQuest.com Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home ownership needs.
Wishing you a awesome October,
The SanAntonioHomeQuest.com Realty Solutions Team
Stephanie &am
September 2007 San Antonio Realty Market Report
September 7, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Despite the mortgage lending mess and the bad realty press, San Antonio’s real estate market continues to buck national trends. Locally, both buyer and seller confidence remains high, bolstered by the area’s exceptionally favorable economic and demographic projections.
In August, Forbes.com ranked San Antonio as the nation’s 4th top city for home sellers. Although the average resale home list price has been slowly trending downward, most sellers will benefit nicely when they sell their property and cash out their home’s historically high-appreciated value.
Conversely, homebuyers can anticipate a solid buyers’ market as list prices fall and homes languish on the market a bit longer during San Antonio’s beautiful fall and winter months.
In summary, both buyers and sellers can take comfort in knowing that San Antonio’s realty market will likely remain both stable and reasonably priced in the near term and will fair much better than most large cities as the nation’s depressed realty market stabilizes over the coming months.
Here are the market statistics for San Antonio single-family detached home listings as of 7 September 2007.
active listings: 12326 - stable - neutral for both buyers and sellers
average list price for recently sold property: $189,480 - stable - neutral for buyers and sellers
average days on the market for recently sold property: 67 - increasing - good for buyers
If you have questions, need San Antonio area realty or mortgage advice or assistance, or just want to chat, please call or send an E-mail. The SanAntonioHomeQuest.com Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home ownership needs.
Wishing you a sunny September,
Stephanie & Randy Kelley, Realtors®
The SanAntonioHomeQuest.com Realty Solutions Team
Legacy Group - Keller Williams
(800) 201-9145 or (210) 867-8743 or (210) 863-2661
San Antonio - Beautiful Places & Bright Smiling Faces
September 5, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Coming to San Antonio? Don’t worry - be happy!
For military families, Texas continues to be absolutely the healthiest housing market of all states and San Antonio is one of the better housing markets of the Nation’s large cities.
Military families arriving during the fall and winter months will likely find a very favorable buyer’s market. There is an ample supply of reasonably priced new and resale homes near the military bases and particulary in the Lackland AFB area. Quality rental housing is also readily available, however, since rental rates have increased significantly recently, military families are advised to explore the benefits of investing their housing allowance in their own home instead of passing the benefits to a landlord.
Military transferees should establish a relationship with a military savy Realtor at least 3 months prior to their reporting date. Find a Realtor who will help ease your transition and expedite your home search by providing periodic updates on market conditions, home prices, and mortgage loan opportunities. Ask the Realtor to set up a direct Multiple Listing Service (MLS) search for properties meeting your needs. The search gives you immediate notification when a property matching your search is recorded in the MLS. It will be faster and more accurate than any realty search engine found on the Internet.
By PCS time, your Realtor should have you well acquainted with your target home buying area and the conditions you will find during your home buying or renting search.
The San Antonio Home Quest Team specializes in assisting relocating military families. Please visit our website at SanAntonioHomeQuest.com and don’t hesitate to contact us via phone at (800) 201-9145, or (210) 863-2661 or via E-mail at kelleybus@aol.com. Our never ending goal is to help with your relocation needs and to make your transition to San Antonio as efficient and trouble free as possible. We are, simply, your best realty solutions specialists.
Don’t Be Discouraged By the Mortgage Mess
August 19, 2007 | Leave a Comment
From SanAntonioHomeQuest.com , Legacy Group-Keller Williams, San Antonio
If the mortgage industry bad news has you bewitched, bothered and bewildered, don’t be discouraged.
If you are an active duty military member and entitled to a guaranteed housing allowance, you should be much better off than the average buyer when the time comes to negotiate your mortgage loan (assuming you haven’t messed up your credit).
Here’s some advice from Pam O’Bryant, Partner, The O’Bryant Team, San Antonio. She specializes in mortgage loans for military affiliated families.
Sellers:If you’re planning on selling your home, be prepared for an even smaller pool of qualified buyers. While some experts predict a settling of this credit crisis over the coming year, tightened credit guidelines and diminishing mortgage products could knock out as many as 15%-30% of potential qualified buyers. Now is not the time to sit and wait for the best possible price. Have a serious talk with your Real Estate Agent. Having experienced buying/selling transactions in your area, he or she can help you price your home accordingly. He or she can also help ensure that your buyers are pre-approved and stay pre-approved throughout the entire transaction.
Buyers:Get pre-approved by your mortgage professional. While there are a lot of great deals out there, getting credit is becoming tougher and tougher, and it’s taking longer and longer to complete a transaction. Remember, what you qualify for today could change tomorrow in a volatile market. For those looking to refinance, keep this in mind. There is no time to delay! Communicate with your lender. Don’t do anything that could negatively affect your credit, and make sure you get all your documentation in on time.
Borrowers with less-than-perfect credit: Each week it seems lenders are shedding more and more mortgage products. Many lenders have stopped offering No-Doc loans and are reducing all forms of Stated-Income loans. While it might be challenging, borrowers with credit issues need to see a loan expert. Often they have credit repair resources and other strategies to help you reach your financial goals. Finally, don’t let the headlines get to you. While all looks bleak and scary now, there’s an important concept to embrace: all markets, while cyclical in nature, are self-correcting, be it credit, real estate, stocks, or bonds. For the last 6 or 7 years, real estate was booming and riding high. The correction we’re experiencing now – while it seems harsh and could get much worse – is, in a sense, “natural” and directly related to the extremely loose guidelines and perhaps overzealous lending and leveraging during the boom cycle.
Pam O’Bryant
Partner
The O’Bryant Team
Phone: (210) 293-2302
Fax: (210) 293-1440
pobryant@satxhomeloans.com
www.satxhomeloans.com
If you or someone you know would like to learn more about the credit crisis and how it could affect your financial goals, please send and E-mail or call Pam at (210)293-2302 to discuss your situation or set up an appointment. She will be happy to speak with you about it!
August 2007 San Antonio Area Realty Market Report
August 19, 2007 | Leave a Comment
From Legacy Group-Keller Williams, San Antonio
With schools starting and the summer relocation cycle coming to a close, San Antonio’s realty market is expected to cool even more than it has in recent weeks.
This year, San Antonio’s real estate market has been dramatically different from last year. The homes-for-sale inventory is significantly up, home prices are falling and new home builders are offering more incentives to entice buyers. Investor activity is virtually negative and move up buyers are locked in place waiting for their homes to sell. Tougher lending requirements have significantly reduced the number of available buyers, especially for lower priced houses.
Although not as severe, San Antonio’s sluggish realty market is consistent with the national realty market downturn; however it doesn’t reflect the area’s exceptionally strong economic and demographic projections. Buyers and sellers can take comfort in knowing that, although it has its peaks and valleys, San Antonio’s realty market is remarkably stable over the long run.
For your information, here are the market statistics for San Antonio single family detached home listings as of 6 August, 2007:
active listings: 12466 - stable - neutral for buyers and sellers
average list price for recently sold property: $187,885 - trending down slowly - good for buyers
average sold price for recently sold property: $183,106 - trending down slowly - good for buyers
average days on the market for recently sold property: 66 - steady - neutral for buyers and sellers
If you have questions, need San! Antonio area realty or mortgage advice or assistance, or just want to chat, please call or send an E-mail. The SanAntonioHomeQuest.com Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your realty needs.
Randy & Stephanie Kelley, Realty Solutions Specialists, (800) 201-9145
