San Antonio Real Estate Market Cooling? (Dallas, Austin: sales, rentals, condos)

[googie2525]

I believe that the market will eventually correct itself. The current housing market/pricing in San Antonio is really far too high, especially considering that San Antonio is certainly not a high income city. I still get sticker shock around here, and I make quite a bit above the average/median, being that the median family income per year is $46,484. I do think that areas such as Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, Terrell Hills, King William, etc., will not drop significantly though, since SA has so few high-end older/historic neighborhoods, and all the new out-of-town money seem to flock to these areas. And yes, we're not priced as high (even remotely) as say Los Angeles or San Francisco, but then again, there's a very good reason for this, as, ahem, we're a hicktown, pardon the expression, comparatively speaking, in the areas of culture, nightlife, and "coolness" in general. Basically, we're still a haven for retirees, which is fine, but not if you're under, say, 45, and love the arts, music, and fine dining...oh boy, I just opened a can of worms, I'm just waiting for the replies to this And please don't parrot the standard, "well, then move to Austin!"

[hello13685]

Hello there,

Well, let me please voice complete support for everything you wrote. I completely share your opinion, and it's good to see that a long time resident such as yourself can see it too. I think when deciding to come, out-of-towners look at 1) the home prices, and see how relatively cheap they are, then 2) assume that a city of this size MUST not be a hick town (as you yourself correctly nailed it). Then many of them get the shock of their lives when they get here, as did my parents who moved from CA to be near me, then fled this place for the reasons you describe.

I know, some SA neighborhoods are approaching CA prices, and if I paid that, what I would have to say to that is: "Hello, then where are my Rodeo Drive, Hillcrest, and Golden Gate Park?"

[sapphire]

Originally Posted by googie2525

I believe that the market will eventually correct itself. The current housing market/pricing in San Antonio is really far too high, especially considering that San Antonio is certainly not a high income city. I still get sticker shock around here, and I make quite a bit above the average/median, being that the median family income per year is $46,484. I do think that areas such as Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, Terrell Hills, King William, etc., will not drop significantly though, since SA has so few high-end older/historic neighborhoods, and all the new out-of-town money seem to flock to these areas. And yes, we're not priced as high (even remotely) as say Los Angeles or San Francisco, but then again, there's a very good reason for this, as, ahem, we're a hicktown, pardon the expression, comparatively speaking, in the areas of culture, nightlife, and "coolness" in general. Basically, we're still a haven for retirees, which is fine, but not if you're under, say, 45, and love the arts, music, and fine dining...oh boy, I just opened a can of worms, I'm just waiting for the replies to this And please don't parrot the standard, "well, then move to Austin!"

OK, you don't have to move to Austin, but if you aren't happy here, why stay? If I were miserable, you can bet I'd be gone. This town just suits my lifestyle. I've lived in both Dallas and Houston, and you couldn't pay me to move back. They are OK to visit, but living there is not for me.

I have met approximately 10 transplanted Californians just this year. They have all been young couples/families that could not even begin to make ends meet in California. I don't think many of them are missing the arts, music, and fine dining you speak of. Time will tell if they all stay, or just pass on through, but I believe that most San Antonians are friendly enough to make them feel welcome. One of the main reasons this is my home.

[hello13685]

Financial concerns are quite valid. But for me, the choice has become cold weather vs. hick culture, and I really don't like the cold...

[sapphire]

San Francisco is a wonderful city. I would love to live there. I think a lot of people would love to live there, or at least visit often. In no way, shape, or form is it a hick town. However, last time I was there, it smelled like a giant toilet that hasn't been cleaned in years. The homeless population* there is enormous, and you practically trip over them as you walk through the city. A parking space there is about $500 a month--almost a house note in SA, I might add--it's almost cheaper to eat out than buy your food at the markets. It's overcrowded, and really the weather is not all that great, if you were to be honest about it.

Anyway, I guess I am just being defensive about my adopted hometown of SA. I guess if people are looking for life in the fast lane, they shouldn't come here to live. It's definitely laid-back, but that is the charm for me. Houston, Dallas, and especially Austin all have horrible traffic, and their scenery is not anything to write home about, either. Austin is beautiful out west, but it's also very expensive. San Antonio has it's nice spots, awesome Mexican food, and the Spurs, and anything else is just a bonus in my book.

*I have nothing against homeless people, I go feed them downtown all the time. I just know they urinate all over the streets of San Francisco.

[210]

Hicktown... funny.

We seem to have Jay Leno writers on this forum.

[Texasbound]

I ran into this website today. Sounds like there is a housing bust across the United States. It isn't a crash, but it is a big decline in housing price increases and isn't over yet.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...iceReport.aspx
If you go to the house prices by city..
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...cesByCity.aspx
You can see that the increase in housing prices for San Antonio has decreased and will decrease even more for next year. Eventually it will go back up, but not for a couple of years most likely.
Just thought I'd share the info.

[MichelleSG]

I loved San Diego for many of the same reasons I love San Antonio, it has that small town feel without actually being that small. There are hick places out here but it's not all hick by any means. There are so many people back in San Diego that are financially going under under in a big way, mostly just like us, young couples with new families, primarily because of the cost of living. One can't afford to survive out there, certainly not raise a family. So are we just supposed to not move? San Antonio just passed up San Diego as 7th largest city in the US probably because of the fact the the cost of living is so much less. And we call this hick? More people will come and the houses will sell for more than some of the people here want them to but that's the price to pay for growth. Personally I don't want to move to Austin, or Houston either. We came here specifically for small town hick. We drove into Houston last month and said "Hey, it's Texas' version of LA." Nice to visit, wouldn't want to live there, can't stand driving in it. Things will change for San Antonio, no doubt, but change does happen. You either adapt or move, we did.

[googie2525]

Boy, looks like I ruffled some feathers with the "hick" statement. Well, first off, I'm a 5th generation San Antonian, but I lived in Houston for 4 years of college, and I will most certainly agree that H-Town is a depressing nightmare of a city (I won't list the reasons here, but this statement too, I'm sure, will ruffle more feathers). I wouldn't move back there for all the gold in Fort Knox.

Basically, what I'm trying to relate is, I've lived here all my life (minus 4), and have seen the real estate market escalate beyond reason, especially in the area where I grew up (Alamo Heights/Terrell Hills). Now I know we don't have any shortage of land, nor a shortage of labor to build new homes, so what I see developing here is a "bubble," not unlike what happened to Phoenix, AZ not long ago. Basically, regular folks were simply priced out of the market by flippers, greedy developers, and just plain-out marketing trickery that artificially inflated the market. Now, San Antonians seem to be falling prey to this phenomenom as well, where they compare our prices to say, Los Angeles or Seattle or New York, and think, "Wow, San Antonio is cheap compared to those places!" Well it definately is, comparatively speaking, but it's STILL too high for a city that doesn't boast many cultural activities that the ridiculously overpriced places have, which is WHY they're overpriced to begin with. I guess when I say "hick," which was probably the wrong word in retrospect, I meant we don't have many art galleries/museums of note, our symphony is always broke, 4-star eateries are limited (although I pretty much eat Tex-Mex exclusively!), and live theatre is practically non-existant, and in general, SA is more well-suited to folks who don't care much for that kind of thing, which is not to say I'm "miserable" here...just faintly bored In summation, and in my humble opinion, SA ain't some glamourous hip city that can demand the princely sums that a place like Manhattan or LA can. I still like it here just fine for the most part, it beats out plenty of other cities I've been to for sure, but it's still plain ol' South Texas, and should be priced accordingly...you know what I'm sayin'?

Okay, back to topic, a perfect example of this goofy real estate market would be my grandmothers old house, which she sold in 1999 for a tad over 200K, and which just sold again for 525K this year! This is nuts. And really, it was just an old 1950's ranch (albeit a rather large one) that just happened to be in a much desired school district (and the new buyers didn't even have children). I guess I'm just aggravated at the state of the current housing market in general, not only here, but almost everywhere these days. It's the fleecing of America, and the forclosures on those AIM's are beginning to rear their ugly heads.

Whew, that was a long post!

[Latinocowboy]

Originally Posted by googie2525

Okay, back to topic, a perfect example of this goofy real estate market would be my grandmothers old house, which she sold in 1999 for a tad over 200K, and which just sold again for 525K this year!

I think this is pretty much the same in most places. We almost bought a house in New Jersey (about 45-60 minutes from NYC) in 2000 for $240,000. Last year, that same house sold for $450,000. I guess the impact is more obvious in a city like San Antonio where the median salary doesn't compare to NJ or NY, so I can understand your point of view.