Post Oak Development of Texas
9th largest & 7th fastest growing city in the U.S.
Welcome to San Antonio, Texas
The U.S. Census Bureau just listed San Antonio as the 7th fastest growing city in the U.S. And we're climbing. As big businesses like the new Toyota Plant emerge in San Antonio, the citys economy continues to make its mark.
The steady climb in the citys economic growth reflects in the real estate market. While some Texas cities are experiencing "bubble" effects due to surges in real estate prices, San Antonios market has grown at a steady pace and continues to do so.
According to the San Antonio Express News, "As analysts continue obsessing about the country's increasingly dismal real estate market, South Texas remains a bright spot in the national picture. In December, Fortune magazine got on the San Antonio real estate bandwagon, anointing the city as the best real estate market in the nation. Fortune's top ten markets in the country were all in Southern states, and San Antonio led the pack with a projected home price appreciation rate of 8.3 percent in 2006.
The Fortune article is credited with spurring out-of-state investor interest in San Antonio." Numbers released this week indicate San Antonio's median home price rose 6 percent since October 2006.
The median sale price of an existing home in the San Antonio MSA through October 2007 was $150,100.
Source: San Antonio Board Of Realtors
"Between the end of the first quarter of 2005 and the first quarter of 2006, San Antonio netted 14,400 new jobs; San Antonios sales tax grew nearly 12 percent in the first quarter of 2006 compared to the same period a year ago; The average cost of a home in San Antonio increased from $142,800 in the first quarter of 2005 to more than $158,300 in the first quarter of this year." - San Antonio Business Journal
Geographically, San Antonio covers more than 500 square miles and is located in Bexar County in south central Texas, one of the fastest growing regions in the state. The city is just a stones throw from the state capital in Austin and an afternoon drive from Dallas, Houston, the Gulf Coast and Mexico. San Antonio is anchored by several key industries and is targeting other emerging industries to drive the citys economic future:
- The health care and biotechnology fields have an annual economic impact of $11.5 billion and employ more than 98,000 citizens. San Antonio has become a leading research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other conditions thanks to the renowned South Texas Medical Center and more than 30 other medical facilities.
- San Antonio is a recognized leader in the information security industry. The Air Intelligence Agency, a Department of Defense center for excellence in information security, calls San Antonio home.
- More than 9,500 employees work in San Antonios emerging aerospace and aviation industry, which has a $2.5 billion annual economic impact.
- San Antonio is a top visitor and convention destination, with more than 20 million people choosing the Alamo City as their vacation or meeting site. Tourism employs more than 79,000 and contributes more than $4 billion annually to the local economy.
San Antonio is a great place for families to live. The cost of living, seven percent below the national average, is consistently ranked among the lowest of major U.S. cities while home prices are among the most affordable in the country.
"For the San Antonio housing industry, the second quarter of 2006 was the strongest on record in nearly every category quarterly starts, annual starts, housing inventory, finished housing inventory, developed lot inventory, lot delivery and future lots," said Randall Allsup, manager of Metrostudys San Antonio division.
"According to the second-quarter 2006 report by Metrostudy, a total of 5,367 single-family home-construction starts were recorded between the months of April and June. This figure marks a 29.4 percent increase from the number of housing starts recorded during the second quarter of 2005. For the 12 months ending June 30, 2006, the Metrostudy report shows that 18,598 homes commenced construction. This is a 26.2 percent increase from new home starts from the previous 12-month period.
Local homebuyers also purchased a total of 4,482 new single-family homes during the second quarter of this year, a 24.5 percent jump from the number of new homes purchased during the same three months of 2005. Over the last 12 months, sales were completed on 15,743 new units, an 18.9 increase from the number of home-purchase closings recorded during the previous 12-month period, the Metrostudy report shows.