Buyer's market
Real estate experts declare San Antonio among best markets for homebuyers
Local homebuyers are in luck this home shopping season — San Antonio has been named one of the friendliest markets for buyers by real estate database titan Zillow.
Zillow analyzed housing markets in the 35 largest metros across the country and ranked them on a spectrum from most buyer-friendly to most seller-friendly. The index "shows how hot a region's housing market is compared to others by analyzing sale-to-list-price ratios, percentage of listings with a price cut, and how long homes stay on the market," the company says in a release.
The San Antonio metro area ranks as the 11th most buyer-friendly housing market in the U.S., with a median home value of $192,800 and homes staying on the market for an average of 77 days.
The report drilled down further to name Fair Oaks Ranch, where the median home value is $477,000, the most buyer-friendly location in the area. Converse, where the median home value is $174,800, was named the most seller-friendly spot in the San Antonio area. According to Zillow, the suburbs of Bulverde, Schertz, and Seguin all landed in the middle of the buyer-seller index, meaning they are not as buyer- or seller-friendly as other cities on the spectrum in the area.
Houston, ranked ninth most buyer-friendly market out of the 35 largest metros in the country, is the only urban area in Texas that performed better than San Antonio. Austin landed in the middle of the index at No. 18, and Dallas-Fort Worth ranked No. 24, making it more of a seller-friendly market.
Nationwide, Zillow says buyers in Florida and the New York metro area will have "more favorable conditions than those in most other major markets."
While it may be surprising to see New York City on the list, as Zillow points out in its release, what makes a buyer-friendly market isn't necessarily based on pricing. In New York, for example, homebuyers who can afford the expensive real estate face low competition, thus making it a buyer's market.