shore thing

Charming Texas Gulf Coast community named one of the most affordable beach towns in U.S.

Rockport is one of the best beach town values in the U.S.

Photo by Cissy Beasley via Visit Rockport Fulton

Here's some welcome news for San Antonio residents in search of a beach house that won't break the bank: A new report from Realtor.com says a popular Texas coastal town is among the most affordable in the country.

Rockport, Texas, a coastal community a little under a three-hour drive from San Antonio, lands at No. 7 on Realtor.com’s new list of most affordable beach towns in the country. The charming Gulf Coast town’s average home list price is $435,112.

Rockport is popular for its “clean beaches, fantastic fishing, and world-class birdwatching,” the report says.

Rockport offers 10 different sites on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, which boasts the planet’s sole migrating flock of over 265 whooping cranes, which passes through the Aransas Wildlife Refuge every winter.

In Rockport, waterfront homes start in the mid-$400,000s, the report notes, with standouts including a $449,000 two-bedroom townhouse with lovely views of the Aransas Bay and a three-story, two-bedroom house on Mustang Island on the market for $599,900.

To generate the list, Realtor.com’s team surveyed the median home list prices of more than 1,300 towns located across America’s coastlines from May 2021 through April 2022. These areas had at least 30 homes for sale in April (not including pending transactions), the report adds.

Properties must actually be on the water and not just nearby to qualify for the list, and be “more than just a strip of sand and surf” and have diverse entertainment. Rockport is 18 miles from Port Aransas and 30 miles from Corpus Christi.

“The U.S. has over 95,000 miles of shorelines,” George Ratiu, manager of economic research at Realtor.com, noted in the list. “But most people, when they think of beach towns, they focus on a few dozen destinations. However, there are a lot of hidden gems, which offer all the benefits of seaside living at a much lower price.”

America’s cheapest beach town, according to Realtor.com, is Atlantic City, New Jersey, with a median list price of $161,754. Tiverton, Rhode Island is the priciest of the cheap deals, with a median home price of $480,262.

Here’s the full list from Realtor.com:

1. Atlantic City, New Jersey
Median list price: $161,754

2. Deerfield Beach, Florida
Median list price: $230,071

3. New London, Connecticut
Median list price: $242,392

4. Mastic Beach, New York
Median list price: $334,907

5. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Median list price: $347,875

6. Seal Beach, California
Median list price: $400,338

7. Rockport, Texas
Median list price: $435,112

8. Lynn, Massachusetts
Median list price: $449,626

9. Morehead City, North Carolina
Median list price: $464,842

10. Tiverton, Rhode Island
Median list price: $480,262

reports rankings lists 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

undefined

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