Weather in Hill Country vs Southern California.

[dpantle]

I would second Kerrville area as well. Even more pretty than directly north of SA. And unless you shell out millions for a ranch, you're probably not likely to have a creek or river running "through" your property. Can't speak for Kerrville, but in my area, land goes for around 40k/acre in the 3-20 acre neighborhoods. Double that price if you want to live on the river.

[Zman21295]

Really? I've been talking to a realtor and looking online and property for about 10 acres (I currently live on 3 and want more lol) around kerville is about $150k which is about 50k under my budget.

It's kinda depressing thinking you can get 40 acres in colorado for $50k

[dpantle]

Like I said, can't speak to the Kerrville area. I live north of SA about 12 miles from loop 1604 in San Antonio. Much closer. Prices like you are quoting is what we saw 20 years ago in this area. Prices had been around 60K per acre prior to 2008, before the downturn. They have settled to around 40K and are on the uptrend. Like I said, good time to buy.

I honestly didn't think you could find that kind of price around Kerrville either though, at least in the semi-improved neighborhoods with decent roads. That pricing sounds very reasonable for land only an hour away from SA, and certainly worth a visit to investigate.

As far as Colorado goes, my sister has a second home there that lost 70% of it's value in recent years. I'm sure most of the state got hit pretty hard in the recreational areas.

[doss1]

I paid about $120k for 7 acres with oaks, hills and a river near the LBJ ranch in Stonewall, Tx in 2010. A few years later I asked the landowner next to me if they would sell me about 2 more acres and I bought that, as well.

[Johnhw2]

God made Tx hot in the summer so we wouldnt get too crowded with people.......we can handle the cost for the benefit.The biggest long term issue in hill country to me is water as is the case in most of the west and midwest.

Comfort is about as pretty as hill country can get. The pictures above summarize panhandle vs hill country pretty well. I wonder some about oak decline too in the hill country as the hills and trees contribute significantly to its beauty to me.

Good luck and welcome to Tx

[die Eichkatze]

Originally Posted by Johnhw2

.........The biggest long term issue in hill country to me is water as is the case in most of the west and midwest.

Very true! But even so, there are some areas of the Hill Country that can hold their own in regards to water supply. While I'm not in the market to buy land in the Hill Country since my family already owns a sufficient amount, this would be my top priority in my search for land, water availability. Every county has areas that are better than other sections, but on a whole I would be skeptical about buying land (relying on a well) in Travis, Hays, Comal, Bexar, Kendall, Bandera, Llano and Blanco Counties. Mason, Gillespie, Kerr, Kimble, and Real are in a better position, but as stated previously even these counties have some "bad" areas. Finding a driller that isn't out to just make a buck and actually knows about the aquifer is also important.

[dpantle]

It has been my experience that the reputable drillers in my area are the experts in terms of aquifer composition and yield. They can tell you within 20' which tributary lies at a particular depth.

I guess there are drillers out there who are less scrupulous, I've just not run into any.