Your Expert Guide

Shavano Park: An expert welcomes you to a 'small town in the big city'

There are so many great places to live in San Antonio that it helps to have an expert on your side. The Neighborhood Guide presented by Kuper Sotheby's International Realty gives you insider access from the agents who live and work there, providing in-the-know info about your possible new community.

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Rosanna Schulze's relationship with Shavano Park goes way back. For the past 20 years, the San Antonio native has lived right outside this "small town in the big city," driving through it every day to show homes and work with buyers and sellers in the neighborhood.

Schulze first began selling homes in the area when she was the site manager and sales counselor for a custom-home builder in the subdivision Bentley Manor, where she has since sold over 20 luxury homes.

In 2007, she left new-home sales and returned to her dream job as a Realtor, combining her strong construction background, knowledge of luxury homes, and love of working with people (including several of the San Antonio Spurs).

"The city of Shavano Park offers a unique blend of rural small-town character with urban conveniences," says Schulze. "The city's motto is 'City Living with Country Charm,' and it lives up to it."

Shavano Park's neighborhoods include the Old Shavano Park, Shavano Estates, Shavano Creek, De Zavala Estates, Bentley Manor, Huntington, Willow Wood, and Pond Hill Garden Villas.

Schulze offered up a few more of her personal favorites about life in Shavano Park. Here's her guide to the area:

Where to eat & drink
Take your pick from elegant — "Fredrick's Bistro and Pam's Patio Kitchen," Schulze recommends — to laid-back, like Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling and Chicken N Pickle.

The newly opened Kerbey Lane, Bigz Burgers at UTSA, North Italia, and La Panaderia at the Rim also generate buzz.

Where to play
"Phil Hardberger Park and Salado Creek Greenway Trails will get you outside," while TopGolf and Andretti Indoor Karting & Games provide fun in a more structured setting.

Six Flags Fiesta Texas is only two miles away, and Mission Ridge Shooting Range & Academy is a mere three.

Where to live
"I recently helped several families downsize into luxury garden homes in The Cottage Estates of Bentley Manor," Schulze says. "The area offers high-end luxury garden homes in a gated subdivision surrounded by lush landscaping and estate-size homes on 3/4-acre lots."

310 Hampton Way was one of those downsized homes, purchased by Schulze's clients after she sold their 5,600-square-foot home in The Waters at Deerfield.

"It was a pleasure working with Rosanna on the sale of our home," says Charles T. Barret, one of Schulze's many repeat clients in Shavano Park. "She was polite, welcoming, and an absolute professional at all times. Her experience as a Realtor was evident in the way she conducted business and the smooth sales process. I highly recommend Rosanna if you are looking for an experienced Realtor who delivers results."

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Rosanna Schulze works and plays in Shavano Park. For more information on buying and selling a home in the area, click here, email rosanna.schulze@kupersir.com, or call 210-788-4135.

Realtor Rosanna Schulze.

Photo by Onward Group

Agent Rosanna Schulze.

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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