san antonio: Health care, bio science, medical research and education: $ for San Antonio, Texas
- 10/20/08 02:14 AM
According to a recent study conducted by researchers at San Antonio's Trinity University, the economic impact of San Antonio's health care and bioscience industry grew by $1 billion to $16.3 billion from last year. In addition, 3,600 jobs were added. Currently, 116,417 of jobs in healthcare account for one out of seven in the San Antonio area and represent $4.5 billion in wages. These positions include delivery of medical services, bio-research, health insurance, and related industries.
These jobs do not include those of approximately 12,000 staff and faculty positions at Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland AFB, Brooke Army Medical Center … (2 comments)
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san antonio: You know you want them: butterfly photos! This week in my garden
- 10/18/08 03:19 AM
A monarch on the jatropha bush, stoking up before the big migration to Mexico.
A giant swallowtail feeding on the flame acanthus. It may have been one of the caterpillars on the lemon tree.
A bordered patch, "one of the most variable butterfly species in the world," according to my butterfly book.
I only got two shots of this beautiful white-angled sulphur before it fluttered away.
… (43 comments)
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san antonio: Some real estate markets in Texas buck the downward price trend
- 10/16/08 09:29 AM
The mortgage and housing crises damaging real estate markets in other parts of the country have left Texas relatively unscathed. For example, the average home price in the New Braunfels area is $267,000, up from around $245,000 a year ago. The average home price in 2001 was $140,000.
New Braunfels is located northeast of San Antonio on the busy IH-35 corridor between San Antonio and Austin on the edge of the Hill Country. It is situated on the Comal and Guadalupe Rivers east of Canyon Lake. It is a popular tourist destination as well as a retirement haven. Home values also have … (5 comments)
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san antonio: Changes coming: Lackland AFB and Wilford Hall Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas
- 10/15/08 05:09 AM
Lackland AFB is home to the 37th Training Wing, the largest in the Air Force. It provides basic military training as well as training in professional and technical skills, and English language for the other military services as well as the Air Force, government agencies, and US allies. It is the only entry processing station for USAF enlisted Basic Military Training (BMT). Lackland currently has six technical training squadrons, from which more than 86,000 students graduate every year.
When Kelly AFB was closed as a result of BRAC 1995, Lackland took on a flying mission and incorporated the adjacent 2-mile-long runway. … (5 comments)
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san antonio: Ribbon cutting for AEF at Randolph AFB, Texas
- 10/02/08 08:14 AM
The Air Force's deployment and personnel processes are being combined in a transfer of the AEF Center from Langley AFB in Virginia to Randolph AFB, just northeast of San Antonio, Texas. Earlier in the year, AFPC's readiness division and casualty matters division were combined with AEF operations to create the Air and Space Expeditionary Force and Personnel Operations Directorate. The directorate seems to have met their goal of keeping disruption to a minimum during the transition. Tasks included readying the AFPC's infrastructure by migrating computer systems, rewiring networks, increasing bandwidth, and bringing systems online in the new location.
The ceremony on September … (4 comments)
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san antonio: New training facility opens at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas
- 10/02/08 02:31 AM
Fort Sam Houston is the location for a new Army Medical Department Center and School's Center for Predeployment Medicine. The CPDM will offer training to combat medics, nurses, senior noncommissioned medics, physicians, and their assistants and will cover everything from providing first aid on the battlefield to support in combat hospitals. Four courses that were previously spread throughout various departments at the AMEDD Center and School will now be offered by CPDM. Since the courses will now be mandatory rather than optional, and offered moe frequently, they will benefit from being administered through a single center.
Feedback from soldiers who have … (0 comments)
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san antonio: Spacious home at 2831 Sierra Salinas, San Antonio, Texas 78259
- 09/27/08 04:31 AM
Light and spacious home in Woods of Encino Park 2831 Sierra Salinas, San Antonio, TX 78259 View Map This spacious home has lots of windows, adding to its airy, open feeling * Tile from entry through kitchen, breakfast area, utility room * Refrigerator stays * Walk-in pantry and laundry room with window for natural light * Downstairs master suite has sparkling garden tub, separate shower, dual vanities, and walk-in closet * Upstairs is another large bedroom with a huge walk-in closet * Two other bedrooms have built-in study areas * Game room or media room * Plenty of storage, closets, and … (3 comments)
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san antonio: San Antonio, Texas: where the living is cheaper
- 09/26/08 10:26 AM
Forbes.com ran a story the other day about the least (and most) expensive US cities for home ownership. San Antonio was ranked the fourth least-expensive city on their list. No surprise here. Gasoline, food, and utilities cost less than in many other large cities. San Antonio's warm climate and continuing economic growth continue to make it an attractive city for retirees as well as relocating workers.
Behind (or beside) the AlamoIn the San Antonio metro area, real estate did not appreciate nearly as much as in other places, so it has not depreciated as much either, although it is definitely … (4 comments)
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san antonio: Another visit to the Japanese Tea Gardens / Sunken Gardens of San Antonio
- 09/24/08 09:26 AM
I went back to see the restored Sunken Gardens at Brackenridge Park last weekend. There were a couple of musicians playing New Age music in the stone pagoda, which was actually rather nice. Although it was about 85 degrees, as usual in September, the walkways were shaded by the trees. They were not covered in blooms as they were on my first visit, but there were a lot of other flowers and greenery to admire.
A moth whose wings glittered with gold iridescence in the sunshine
The Sunken Gardens, located next to Brackenridge Park and the Zoo, is one of my favorite places … (4 comments)
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san antonio: San Antonio good news roundup for real estate investment and relocation
- 06/24/08 02:27 AM
From the awesome Texas Real Estate Research Center come these news items illustrating my belief that San Antonio is still a stable, growing market for residential real estate:
A great place to live"San Antonio has been named the fifth best large metropolitan city in America for relocating families by Worldwide ERC and Primacy Relocation. The two companies examined several factors, including job growth figures for 2007, percentage of nearby top-ranked colleges, average in-state tuition for four-year public colleges, the amount of pediatricians per 100,000 population, and taxes."
Job growthSan Antonio's "entire private sector grew by 1,000 jobs, and medical facility growth … (4 comments)
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san antonio: Relocating to Lackland AFB? An overview of nearby San Antonio neighborhoods
- 03/27/08 08:15 AM
If you're in the Air Force, chances are you've been to Lackland Air Force Base for basic training, but if you are coming to San Antonio for a longer stay, you might be interested in this overview of the local housing market.
Lackland is located on the west/southwest part of San Antonio, where for a long time new residential development has languished. Many of the neighborhoods close to the base were built in the 60s and 70s, before Kelly AFB was decommissioned, and prices today range around $50,000 to $80,000. These include Lackland Terrace (and other neighborhoods with the name "Lackland"), … (10 comments)
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san antonio: Remember to pay your bills when you buy, rehab, and flip houses
- 02/25/08 11:19 AM
If you're going to buy, rehab, and flip houses, be sure to pay your contractors and the other members of your team.
The star of the first two seasons of Flip This House, Armando Montelongo, is accused of not paying his appraisal bills for the properties he bought to rehab. Here's the story from San Antonio local newspaper website:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/realestate/stories/MYSA022308.01C.Montelongo.1b79700c.html
I never liked that guy anyway. He came across as a bully to all the "little people" involved who helped make him successful--and a star.
… (12 comments)
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san antonio: Great employers and more good jobs make for a healthy San Antonio housing market
- 02/19/08 02:20 AM
Texas is one of the few states to be continuing to add jobs, just one of the reasons that the real-estate downturn has not had as much of an effect here as in other states. And two companies headquartered in San Antonio have made it onto Fortune magazine's annual list of top 100 employers. They include Valero Energy, the largest oil refining company in North America that nobody's ever heard of, and Rackspace Managed Hosting, which Microsoft designated Worldwide Hosting Service Provider of the Year in 2007.
Valero's campus is on the northwest part of San Antonio, close to the University … (0 comments)
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san antonio: Market statistics and sales prices per square foot by ZIP code - useful?
- 02/02/08 11:11 AM
Revisiting this post from 2008, I had an e-mail from some clients overseas asking about the average price per square foot in ZIP code 78249 to help them decide whether to make an offer on a second home and for how much. They saw the Board of Realtor statistics published from December and were wondering if the average price per square foot would fall to $75 to $78 in this neighborhood. Here's the gist of my reply, recycled for the blog in case it's interesting to others:
The problem with ZIP codes is they are funny shapes and 78249 goes all over … (5 comments)
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san antonio: San Antonio's healthcare industry grows and adds jobs
- 01/27/08 02:03 AM
San Antonio has a diversified, growing economy and continues to add jobs. One of my favorite sectors as it relates to investment properties is the medical/biotech industry. Until recently, hospitals were located mainly downtown and biotech, research, schools, and other medical facilities were concentrated on the northwest part of the city at the South Texas Medical Center.
In my opinion, the Medical Center area has long been one of the best areas for investment properties because it attracts prospective tenants with well-paying jobs as well as students and interns the University of Texas Health Science Center. Methodist Hospital, Christus Santa Rosa, and … (0 comments)
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san antonio: Fort Sam just gets bigger and better
- 01/15/08 01:47 AM
One of San Antonio's largest employers, Fort Sam Houston, will be getting even bigger in the next few years: $1.5 billion bigger. Fort Sam (as it's known here) has 19 new buildings on the way, and another 4 buildings scheduled for renovation under the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission--somewhat ironically, since many San Antonians vividly remember the closure of Kelly AFB, another huge employer in the military city.
Fort Sam has a long history of caring for wounded soldiers. It is home to the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC), which is a Level 1 trauma center with a world-renowned … (2 comments)
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san antonio: Investors, come do your holiday shopping in San Antonio
- 11/14/07 10:16 AM
According to an October 1 Forbes.com article, San Antonio ranks 8th on the list of most stable housing markets, nothing new for a city that has placidly resisted the ups and downs of other Texas cities such as Houston, Dallas, and especially Austin. While those cities are also doing well compared to other, more expensive or more depressed markets, San Antonio continues to chug along its usual unexciting way. The median home price of $154,300 is 6.6% higher than last year's. Forbes projects it to increase another 5.35% to 2008, and expects the sales rate per capita to rank sixth in … (3 comments)
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san antonio: San Antonio is a buyer's market now
- 09/27/07 07:49 AM
San Antonio's real estate market continues to run contrary to many of the large cities on the coast, and is still chugging along. Although days on market have lengthened from last year, and there are 33% more homes for sale, and prices are drifting downward from 25% appreciation levels in some neighborhoods, it has just begun to be a buyer's market. Rental income is still positive, especially with fewer entry-level home buyers able to qualify for admittedly dodgy mortgages. Forbes.com listed San Antonio as fourth on its list for home sellers; sixth for best overall housing markets.
The San Antonio Board of … (1 comments)
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san antonio: San Antonio summer market report
- 08/05/07 11:07 AM
San Antonio is still in great shape, stabilizing after two banner years. It is turning into a "normal" market, with fewer buyers and more homes for sale; resale sales were 17% less in June 2007 than a year earlier. The inventory is up by 72% in the same time period. Many local real estate professionals blame the relentless rain, and now that the rain has moved on (for now), there should be an increase in showings and sales, especially as the beginning of the school year approaches.
Another reason for the decrease in buyers is that fewer investors and second-home buyers … (2 comments)
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san antonio: Northwest vs. northeast San Antonio
- 05/23/07 03:13 AM
As a Realtor specializing in rental properties for investors, I spend a lot of time looking at market data on both sales and rentals, both price and days on market, for properties offering comparable features. I compare the sales price to typical rental rates in various neighborhoods, looking for cash flow. Over the last couple of years, I've found that prices for homes in the North East school district, which covers north-central and -east San Antonio, to be a bit lower than they were last year. Several neighborhoods look as if they'd be good prospects for rental investment.One of the most important … (5 comments)
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According to a recent study conducted by researchers at San Antonio's Trinity University, the economic impact of San Antonio's health care and bioscience industry grew by $1 billion to $16.3 billion from last year. In addition, 3,600 jobs were added. Currently, 116,417 of jobs in healthcare account for one out of seven in the San Antonio area and represent $4.5 billion in wages. These positions include delivery of medical services, bio-research, health insurance, and related industries.
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