Strike home

Hill Country community ready to rock with 2,000-home development

Marble Falls will soon welcome a massive master-planned community.

City of Marble Falls/Facebook

A master-planned community will bring nearly 2,000 single-family homes, more than 900 apartments, a sports complex, and a recreation center to an 1,100-acre site near the Hill Country community of Marble Falls.

Farmers Branch-based real estate developer Centurion American Development Group said July 6 that it has selected two homebuilders for the first phase of its Thunder Rock development: DR Horton and Lennar. The first phase will feature 280 single-family homes starting in the $250,000 range. A later phase will include 82 2- to 5-acre lots for “ranchettes.”

“We are looking forward to having two nationally recognized homebuilders of such high caliber to build in our signature Thunder Rock development in Marble Falls,” Rob Romo, vice president of Centurion American, says in a news release.

Thunder Rock is being developed at the northwest corner of U.S. Highway 281 and State Highway 71 in Burnet County. The project will feature:

1,966 single-family homes.
924 apartments.
150 units for “active adults.”
204,000 square feet of commercial development.
A 26-acre city sports complex with four baseball fields, four soccer fields, and a multipurpose field.
A 10-acre, 20,000-square-foot recreation center.
About 200 acres of open space, including parks and nature trails.

Marble Falls, home to more than 7,000 people, is about 85 miles north of San Antonio. Attractions in the Marble Falls area include Balcones Canyonland National Wildlife Refuge, Longhorn Cavern State Park, Turkey Bend Recreation Area, and Horseshoe Bay Resort.

hill-country

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