Real Estate Market Update – San Antonio – 4/21/2009

By rerockstar • April 21st, 2009

What about price per square foot?

A visitor recently sent me an email asking about price per square foot in San Antonio, so I thought I’d get into that today in my weekly housing market update for San Antonio. Let’s take a look at the overall San Antonio area first:

Real Estate Market Chart by Altos Research www.altosresearch.com

As you can see San Antonio’s overall price per square foot remained rather stable through 2008, but into 2009 has gone through a slight increase (and in the past month another slight decrease). Of course, since San Antonio encompassed many different areas at many different price points, the average price per square foot is not a very good indicator of the market activity. Now let’s take a look at some individual zip codes to see how they compare.

As you can see, homes in the 78230 zip code are typically priced more per square foot than the average home in San Antonio. Simple reason? Location and amenities. With neighborhoods like Woods Of Alon, Inverness, Elm Creek, and Whispering Oaks; this area offers convenient access to 410, 1604, and I10 – making it an ideal location for those that need great access combined with mature-tree wooded areas (being close to Voelker Park is a plus). In any neighborhood that offers great location and a perception of a more upscale lifestyle, you will see price per square foot go up. Even if the homes are built by the same companies for less elsewhere, the one truism in real estate – location, location, location – will always apply. Now let’s compare that to 78258 and see what we can learn.

Zip code 78258 is what we commonly call “Stone Oak.” Although a bit of a generality (as 78258 encompasses more than just Stone Oak), most people tend to associate the two together. And of course, when we think Stone Oak, we think of the 281 super street project, the 1604/281 interchange, the lights at Evans Road and Stone Oak Parkway/TPC Parkway – general traffic problems all around. Most people think of traffic at a stand still when they think of Stone Oak. As a real estate agent with his ear to the public, I hear it everyday. And because of it – Stone Oak’s once shiny exterior is starting to fade. I have clients who would love to live there, but thanks to the traffic won’t even consider looking there.

So what does vehicle traffic have to do with price per square foot? Just take a look at the chart again. As traffic problems worsened and the hope of a solution got slimmer, median price per square foot started to decline. The median price has gone down almost $4 a square foot. Not something I would consider a plunge, but a vast difference from the way other neighborhoods work.

The dangers of price per square foot calculations.

Like many calculations in real estate, basing offer prices or sale prices on just one statistic or facet of pricing can be dangerous. Think about what price per square foot means for a second. Is the price of a square foot of linoleum the same as the price as a square foot of marble? Of course not, in houses these differences can make a huge price change from one house to another. So although the house next door might be selling for $101/square foot, your might only be worth $99/square foot or better yet, could be worth $120/square foot. If you are the $120 home, you might be in trouble if your local area is averaging closer to the $101 mark though. By taking into account all the possible variables, a Realtor® can look at your home from different angles and help you price it right or big on it successfully. Its a bit art, a bit skill, a bit science, and a bit luck.

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