Influx of outsiders

San Antonio ranks among 10 hottest markets for relocating homebuyers

The report suggests 5,335 Redfin users relocated to the San Antonio area.

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Drawn by relatively low home prices, buyers increasingly are flocking to the San Antonio metro area.

Among more than 100 major metro areas, San Antonio ranked as the ninth most popular destination for homebuyers moving to the area compared with homebuyers leaving the area, according to the Redfin real estate platform.

Redfin’s report suggests 5,335 Redfin users relocated to the San Antonio area in the second quarter, compared with 4,356 during the same period last year.

“Homebuyers are seeking out less expensive locales like Tampa and San Antonio, partly because the surging cost of housing and … goods is limiting their ability to buy homes in many U.S. cities,” says Taylor Marr, deputy chief economist at Redfin.

Miami topped Redfin’s list of the most popular migration destinations in the second quarter of this year. Dallas-Fort Worth landed at No. 10.

Redfin’s report indicates 4,964 Redfin users relocated to Dallas-Fort Worth in the second quarter, compared with 7,458 during the same period last year.

During the second quarter, 42 percent of Redfin home searches in the San Antonio area came from outside the region. The leading source of those searches? Buyers from the Austin area. For Dallas-Fort Worth, the same figure was 25 percent, with buyers from Los Angeles contributing the most search activity.

It’s no surprise that Austin-area buyers are hunting for homes in the San Antonio area. In June, the median sale price for a home in the Austin area was $537,475, the Austin Board of Realtors says. In the San Antonio area, the median price stood at $348,200. That’s a difference of nearly $190,000.

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