Smart Home for Sale

HGTV Smart Home in Austin neighborhood will soon be for sale

The 2015 HGTV Smart Home, located in Austin's prized Zilker neighborhood, could soon be yours, but this time it'll cost you.

HGTV recently announced the winner of its Smart Home sweepstakes, which included the fully furnished home, $100,000 provided by Quicken Loans, and a 2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Isabel Villarreal of Harlingen, Texas was the lucky winner of the prize package valued at more than $1 million, but she won't be keeping the impeccable Austin home.

According to the San Antonio Express-News, Villarreal has chosen to sell the home, as "she said she would not be able to afford the taxes on the lavish property."

The three-bedroom, three-bathroom modern farmhouse was unveiled by HGTV in April. It features an open concept kitchen and living space surrounded by windows that block sunlight and reduce heat, while providing lots of natural light. The upstairs features even more windows and multiple skylights, plus a vaulted media loft. Notably, there’s also a wet bar in the master bedroom.

Multiple outdoor living spaces, including a screened-in porch and outdoor dining area, complete the modern farmhouse vibe in one of Austin's most sough-after neighborhoods.

"I wish I could keep it, it's the most beautiful house I've seen in all my life," Villarreal said. The home will hit the market, but Villarreal plans to keep the rest of the prize. The cash, reports the Express-News, will be saved for retirement.

Tour the home in the photo slideshow above.

The HGTV 2015 Smart Home is a modern farmhouse with a cedar privacy fence and pecan tree offering a lovely Texas welcome.

Photo courtesy of HGTV Smart Home

The HGTV 2015 Smart Home is a modern farmhouse with a cedar privacy fence and pecan tree offering a lovely Texas welcome.

hgtv home-for-sale

bang for your buck

San Antonio ZIP code is 4th most affordable place for renters in U.S.

Photo by Florian Schmid on Unsplash

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Trying to afford buying a home in San Antonio is difficult enough with current mortgage rates, and doubly so if you're already paying high rent on an apartment or a house. But there are six San Antonio ZIP codes where renters can get the most bang for their buck, according to a new study by financial services company CashNetUSA.

To find the most affordable ZIP codes for renters in the U.S., analysts compared median household incomes by ZIP code to the average annual rent costs in those areas using the Zillow Observed Rent Index. ZIP codes where the average annual rental constituted the lowest percentage of median household income were considered the "most affordable."

San Antonio's 78248 ZIP code specifically stood out as the No. 4 most affordable in the country, and the No. 1 most affordable in Texas. This area encompasses the north San Antonio neighborhoods of Inwood, Forests at Inwood, Oakwood, The Park at Deerfield, Canyon Creek Bluffs, Canyon Creek Village, Blanco Village, Deerfield, Cadillac Drive, and Churchill Estates.

According to the study's findings, the average monthly cost of a rental in 78248 comes out to $1,259.17, and the median annual income of a household in the area is $122,986. Analysts then calculated that the annual rent of a home in this ZIP code only takes up 12.29 percent of a household's median income, which is the fourth-lowest in the nation.

CashNetUSA found the No. 1 most affordable ZIP code for renters nationwide is 66224 in Leawood, Kansas, where annual rent only takes a 10.57 percent cut out of a household's median annual income.

Elsewhere in Texas, two Houston-area ZIP codes – 77401 and 77094 – ranked No. 9 and No. 12 nationally, while Allen's 75013 ZIP code fell two spots behind to claim the No. 14 spot.

The most affordable San Antonio-area ZIP codes for renters
CashNetUSA further unveiled the five most affordable ZIP codes across major U.S. cities, including in San Antonio, Austin, and Houston.

Following 78248 (which took the No. 1 spot citywide) is 78261 (No. 2), which spans east of Highway 281, across Smithson Valley Road. Rent costs in this ZIP code averaged out to $1,698 per month, the report found.

Landing in the No. 3 spot is 78258, which includes Rogers Ranch, The Vineyard, Stone Oak, Summit, Hidden Canyon, and Big Springs neighborhoods. The report said average rent in the area comes out to $1,507 per month, which takes up 17.54 percent of a household's median annual income.

The remaining top two most affordable ZIP codes for San Antonio renters are located in 78259 (Encino Park, Encino Ranch, Cavalo Creek Estates, Northwood Hills, Summit at Bulverde Creek, Roseheart, Redland Woods) and 78260 in Timberwood Park, which is about 25 miles north of downtown San Antonio.

rent rent prices affordable housing