House hunting

Surprising Central Texas city boasts No. 1 U.S. housing market for first-time buyers

This charming Killeen home is on the market for $249,500 - less than the median home price there.

Photo courtesy of Estately.com

Homebuyers looking to live outside of the bustling big city should turn their attention 150 miles northeast of San Antonio: Killeen has the best housing market in the country for first-time buyers, according to a new study by SmartAsset.

Killeen provides the three qualities potential homeowners prioritize the most: affordability, low competition, and growth potential, the report says. Median home prices there were sitting under $253,000 at the end of May, and the city has a one-year growth forecast of 7.4 percent.

"A home purchase can serve as a building block for the homeowner’s financial life – and the circumstances of the local market can make or break the deal," the report's author says. "First-time homebuyers may look for a less competitive market to have a better chance of getting a realistic offer accepted. They also need affordability to position themselves to grow their equity and a community within which to build a network."

Killeen is best known for its close proximity to Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood), the third-largest military base in the country. SmartAsset says the Killeen-Temple-Fort Cavazos metro area also boasts a "reasonably young population," and cites the median income of a resident at $63,458.

Killeen's No. 1 ranking in 2023 is a major improvement over its No. 89 ranking in SmartAsset's 2022 report.

Texas cities dominated the top 10 in the report, with Waco, about 60 miles northeast of Killeen, earning No. 6 (Waco did not appear in the 2022 report). Other Texas housing markets that earned high-ranking spots include Wichita Falls (No. 2) in North Texas, and two Rio Grande Valley cities: McAllen (No. 3), and Brownsville (No. 8).

The top 10 best places for first time homebuyers are:

No. 1 – Killeen, Texas
No. 2 – Wichita Falls, Texas
No. 3 – McAllen, Texas
No. 4 – St. Joseph, Missouri
No. 5 – Cape Coral, Florida
No. 6 – Waco, Texas
No. 7 – Huntsville, Alabama
No. 8 – Brownsville, Texas
No. 9 – Green Bay, Wisconsin
No. 10 – Jackson, Tennessee

SmartAsset's study ranked 185 metro areas based on their affordability, growth potential, housing competition, and population.

reports SmartAsset killeen waco housing market

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.

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