Mortgage mess?

Roof could cave in on San Antonio housing market, study warns

A new study says San Antonio's housing market could falter.

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A new study indicates the Alamo City could be poised for a housing crisis.

Published January 25 by GOBankingRates.com, the study puts San Antonio among 40 U.S. cities that could be facing a faltering housing market, one largely triggered by "pandemic-related disruptions."

"Although today’s housing market is largely hot, experts are bracing for a wave of evictions triggered by pandemic-related disruptions," the study says. "That, they fear, could be the catalyst for a different kind of housing crisis that could rival even the dreariest days of the Great Recession — all with COVID-19 still far from contained."

For its study, GOBankingRates combed through data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and RealtyTrac and examined factors such as mortgage delinquencies, foreclosures, and homeowner and rental vacancy rates.

The study found 3.6 percent of mortgages in San Antonio were 30 to 89 days delinquent, and 1 percent were at least 90 days delinquent. The foreclosure rate is one in every 8,142 homes, and the homeowner vacancy rate is 1.9 percent.

San Antonio is among seven Texas cities that made the GOBankingRates list along with Corpus Christi, Killeen, Amarillo, El Paso, Brownsville, and Laredo.

San Antonio’s appearance in the study contrasts with the success of the local housing market in 2020. In the San Antonio area, home sales went up 11 percent last year compared with 2019, according to the San Antonio Board of Realtors. The city is also among one of the country's most popular places for millennial homebuyers and is increasingly heralded as a top city for tech companies looking to relocate from the East and West coasts.

“With all that 2020 brought us locally, regionally, nationwide, and worldwide, the end-of-year data certainly showed us continued growth of the housing market,” Cher Miculka, SABOR's 2021 chairwoman, says in a release. “Bexar County did especially well, with 27,855 homes sold. Our city and surrounding areas are attractive places to own a home, both for locals and for transplants, and the numbers prove it.”

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.

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