real estate report

New home sales and prices fell in September in San Antonio, per report

New home prices decreased across Texas in September, including in San Antonio.

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A new analysis of the statewide real estate market has revealed new home sales in Texas have slowed since September, despite a drop in average prices. Plus, inventory is on the rise.

The September edition of the New Home Sales Report by Dallas-based platform HomesUSA.com examined MLS data across Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio to determine the status of the overall real estate market.

The report found that the three-month average number of new home sales fell across all four major metros in September. San Antonio saw the most dramatic decline in sales with 1,067 new homes sold in September, versus 1,100 in August.

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin saw the smallest decline in home sales, down by just seven sales to 864 in September. Houston’s total new home sales fell by 27 to 1,943 in September. In Dallas-Fort Worth, new home sales dropped from 1,862 in August to 1,848 in September.

New home prices are dropping in San Antonio
Three-month average prices for new homes across Texas have fallen from $432,749 in August to $429,898 in September, the report found. In a year-over-year comparison from September 2023, new home prices have plummeted almost $29,000.

Average new home prices fell in San Antonio, Austin, and Houston in September, but increased in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Here’s how home prices changed across all four major metros from August to September:

Dallas-Fort Worth: Increased from $489,762 to $492,129
Austin: Decreased from $494,920 to $483,408
San Antonio: Decreased from $340,755 to $338,620
Houston: Decreased from $402,741 to $397,318

How long on the market
The trends also show the three-month average Days on Market (DOM) — the average time homes sit on the market before being sold — across all four real estate markets came out to 97.76 days in September. New homes are remaining on the market slightly longer than they were in August, when the three-month average DOM was 97.05 days.

Specifically in San Antonio, the report said new homes sat on the market for 80.87 days before selling in September, in a slight uptick from August’s DOM of 79.71 days.

New home inventory
New home inventory (the number of active listings on the market) in Texas is also on the rise. The three-month average inventory in September came out to 32,337 new listings, versus 31,893 in August. Active new home listings rose in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin, but decreased in San Antonio.

"San Antonio was the outlier, as active listings last month decreased to 5,384 versus 5,512 in August," the report said.

There were 12,994 active listings in Houston, 7,939 active listings across Dallas-Fort Worth, and 6,019 in Austin in September.

HomesUSA.com founder Ben Caballero cited fluctuating mortgage rates as one of the main reasons why Texas’ real estate market is “showing mixed signals.”

“...But the silver lining is that sales compared to the same time last year are up 12 percent,” said Caballero.

The monthly Texas New Home Sales Report combined the four largest new home markets — Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio — to determine its overall statewide data, which makes up the vast majority of new home sales in Texas.

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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.

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