Sizzling Suburb

This historic San Antonio suburb is one of the nation's hottest spots

Castroville is one hot 'burb.

The San Antonio suburb of Castroville may be small in population — roughly 3,000 residents — but it’s big on reputation. Realtor.com has named Castroville one of the top 20 suburban hot spots among the country’s 50 largest metro areas.

Castroville is along U.S. Highway 90 about 25 miles west of San Antonio in eastern Medina County. According to the Texas State Historical Association, Castroville is a national and a Texas historic district whose highlights include the Landmark Inn State Historic Site, the St. Louis Catholic and Zion Lutheran churches, and the Steinbach House.

Henri Castro founded Castroville in 1844. The Castroville Area Chamber of Commerce says the first European settlers in the area were mostly Catholic farmers from the French region of Alsace; they came to Texas to fulfill Castro’s contract to colonize vacant land.

Thanks to its proximity to San Antonio, “Castroville is the perfect place to settle your family and still be able to find plenty to do on the weekends,” the Chamber of Commerce says.

To come up with its ranking, Realtor.com classified ZIP codes in the 50 largest metros as either suburban or urban, based on household densities. Suburbs then were ranked based on a combined score of household growth, listing price growth, and housing supply and demand. One ZIP code was included for each metro area.

“Fueled by escalating prices and demand in their surrounding urban areas, each ’burb on the list has become a hub for increasing prices, fast home sales, and tough competition among buyers,” Realtor.com says.

Suburbs in the Denver, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and San Francisco metro areas topped the list.

“Suburbs are traditionally viewed as meccas for young families, willing to trade in shorter commute times and urban nightlife for better schools and larger homes,” says Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Realtor.com. “But the relationship between the suburbs and urban areas is far more intertwined. In recent years, rising home prices and inventory shortages in urban centers have made affordable suburban home prices more appealing for buyers.”

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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