San Antonio has long been a place to visit and to live, but for 44 years one real estate list still did not consider it a top trend. In 2023, it is now strong enough to catch the eyes of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The two entities recently released their "Emerging Trends in Real Estate" report for 2024, placing San Antonio at No. 8 overall out of 80 total cities. It also made No. 2 in the category for homebuilding prospects. A news release heralds increasing value in the city as a place to "live, work and grow a business."

San Anontio certainly is growing, with the recent completion of Civic Park and a luxe 17-story hotel in construction; new restaurants all the time; and a fast-growing neighbor that may be solidifying the mega-metro status of San Antonio, Austin, and the space in between.

The 45th edition of the report arranges markets into four major groups with further subcategories: San Antonio is a "Magnet," meaning that both people and companies are moving in. It belongs to the "Super Sun Belt" subgroup, which reflects that the city is "large and diverse but still affordable," and points out that warm weather is a draw. It also mentions "lower regulations and taxes" and "a virtuous cycle between population in-migration and corporate relocations, which feed off each other."

"We are thrilled to see San Antonio break into the Top 10 ... though it's no surprise to those of us doing business here in San Antonio," said Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, President and CEO of economic and workforce development partner Greater:SATX, as quoted in the release. "This is a wonderful testament to the welcoming and positive culture of our region and the collaborative work of our public-private partnership to address the needs of businesses and residents in our community."

There were seven Super Sun Belt cities on the list:

• Phoenix (No. 2 overall)
• Dallas/Fort Worth (No. 3)
• Atlanta (No. 4 overall)
• San Antonio (No. 8)
• Houston (No. 11)
• Miami (No. 14)
• Tampa/St. Petersburg (No. 18)

Austin also made the top 10 overall, but was classified as a "Magnet" and a "Supernova." This means that the No. 5 overall city is ranked among the fastest-growing cities in the report, although the growth does tend to be slowing. The "Supernovas" burst onto the national scene about a decade ago.

It appears that Austin's "Supernova" status had a hand in San Antonio's growth, since the Alamo City is the capital's largest out-migration market — in other words, more people are moving from Austin to San Antonio than to any other city ranked on the list.

"Keep an eye on San Antonio as we continue to align our investments in placemaking to create a more prosperous city for our residents here today and those we'll attract in the future," said Saucedo-Herrera. "Life works greater here in San Antonio, and we believe we are in a moment of transformational growth and invite the world to know San Antonio beyond our status as Texas' best place to visit," she continued.

"This [debut is] the result of countless individuals locally who think and invest boldly to make our San Antonio market one of the most favorable places to live, work and build a business," said David Adelman, Principal of AREA Real Estate and ULI San Antonio Governance Council member. "That hard work is paying off and I'm proud that San Antonio is receiving this well-deserved recognition."