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Investors, come do your holiday shopping in San Antonio

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Robin Rogers, Silverbridge Realty, San Antonio, Texas 398351

 

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 the nation next year.

The foreclosure rate is high, at 4.5%, mostly affecting homes under $150,000 (of which there are a lot), but not as high as one might expect. The evaporation of subprime mortgage financing has hit first-time homebuyers and buyers with poor credit the hardest. These people add to the pool of potential renters, and rents are indeed expected to increase in coming months.

Following are statistics from the local MLS showing the trend of residential sales from September to date:

Sep 30:  sold 1,747 - avg list price $189,885 - avg sold price $183,145 - DOM 68

Oct 31:  sold 1,476 - avg list price $184,745 - avg sold price $178,091 - DOM 74   

Nov 14:  sold 296 - avg list price $184,731 - avg sold price $177,368 - DOM 75

Total single-family currently active: 12,441 - avg asking price $252,861 - DOM 95 all

Notice the unsold time on market is a little over 3 months, not the 10 months of homes that need to be cleared in other markets. However, many builders don't put their inventory on the MLS, so only a portion of new homes are represented in MLS statistics.

Condos and some townhomes are excluded from these figures, too, since they are a smaller, specialty market in San Antonio.

Multifamily (under 8 units) sales from September to date:

Sep 30:  sold 20 - avg list price $163,490 - avg sold price $158,475 - DOM 46

Oct 31:  sold 27 - avg list price $220,460 - avg sold price $213,951 - DOM 58

Nov 14:  sold 6 - avg list price $144,541 - avg sold price $139,350 - DOM 54

Total multifamily currently active: 587 - avg asking price $203,921 - DOM 120 all

North Star Mall used to be the place for families from Mexico to come for their Christmas shopping. I suspect the Rivercenter Mall may have taken over the number-one spot, with its downtown location on the River Walk. But it's hard to beat the surprising sight of the trademark North Star Mall boots, visible from Loop 410 near the airport, all twinkling with stars.

Posted by

 

Robin Rogers, REALTOR, Broker-owner, TRC, MRP, CRS

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Comments (3)

Ricki Eichler McCallum
CastNet Realty - Corpus Christi, TX
Broker,GRI,ABR, e-Pro, TAHS
Hi Robin,    I love those cowboy boots!  I'm surprised the DOM are as small as they are.  That's good.  Thanks for the info.
Nov 14, 2007 01:19 PM
Chul KIM McGuire
CorpusTV.com - Corpus Christi, TX

Wow Robin,

Yup... San Antonio is still a hot market! WOW on average prices! Corpus Christi is puny compared to up there, Austin, Dallas, Houston, etc.

I guess that's one reason one of my clients moved up there after I sold their home.

Cheers, KIM.

 

Nov 15, 2007 12:48 PM
Robin Rogers
Robin Rogers, Silverbridge Realty, San Antonio, Texas - San Antonio, TX
CRS, TRC, MRP - Real Estate Investment Adviser

Hi, Ricki: Those DOM are easily manipulated by agents, so I don't give them too much weight. I suspect that listings whose DOM are adjusted by the agent are the ones that would sell more quickly anyway. However, when aggregated with so many numbers, they project a picture of a market that has slowed, but isn't in critical condition. I'm not actually a numbers person, but I like to see the trends and patterns that develop!

Hi, Kim: I love Corpus Christi and if I had time to get down there more often, I would like to get an older home or condo on or near Ocean Drive. Your Coastal Bend market has been getting nothing but good press lately as the last affordable place in the US to buy waterfront property. What are the rents like for 2-bedroom condos near the beach, or homes on the canal? It might be worth posting some "typical" examples. Come to think of it, I guess I should do that for my market!

Thanks for your comments!

Nov 16, 2007 12:17 AM