San Antonio Real Estate Market Update

By rerockstar • December 9th, 2009

San Antonio Real Estate - Where Are We At Today?

The San Antonio real estate market hasn't been hit as hard as other parts of the country, but looking through median home prices for the whole city this morning, I thought I ought to take a few minutes to explain some of the data I'm seeing and how it relates to real estate in general.

The chart below is constantly updated and the numbers to really pay attention to (in relation to the other charts) are Homes Absorbed and Newly Listed. These are always good indicators of the future, although slight fluctuations are expected at all times. Home Absorbed is the number of homes that were on the market that have since been sold. This is a decrease in inventory. Newly Listed (obviously enough) reflects the number of new listings on the market. This is an increase in inventory. With inventory levels still running high and keeping us well-entrenched in a buyer's market (although we've been making slow headway towards a balanced market), we want to see the Newly Listed smaller than the Homes Absorbed numbers. We need a strong difference between these numbers to truly make a difference in inventory levels.

7-day stats for Single Family properties in SAN ANTONIO, TX as of December 4, 2009
Median List Price	$179,890	Average List Price	$264,780
Total Inventory	7,261	Price per Square Foot	$87
Average Home Size	2,208	Median Lot Size	0
Average # Beds	3.53	Average # Baths	2.60
Homes Absorbed	333	Newly Listed	247
Days on Market	211	Average Age	26

Median Price Of San Antonio Homes

The chart below reflects the median price of all homes listed in San Antonio. When looking at the chart, you would think real estate has been a wild ride here in San Antonio, but we need to look a little closer. First, take a look at the numbers on the left side of the chart - this is the median price. As you can see, at its peak we were approaching $190,000 and at its bottom, we were looking at $175,000. It pays to understand that median price takes into account the lowest priced homes in San Antonio ($14,900) and the priciest real estate in town ($15,000,000). The median price is calculated as the point where half the prices are above the median and half are below.

The swing in our numbers from low to high are a) not as dramatic as one might suspect and b) follow a pattern. Overall our median price hovered between $185,000 and $175,000 (for most of the year with a few spikes above and one dip slightly below. This $10,000 difference isn't as wild a ride as you would expect, especially when you put it in a time line perspective.

Early 2009 - Buyers rushed out early this year to pick up some of the lower priced inventory. There was a lot of pent up energy from last year and 2009 started off with a bit of a rush, but as you can see, it didn't last into spring. When April and May came, the San Antonio real estate market went quiet. Spring usually is a good time for buyers to start looking though as kids will be getting out of school for the summer soon and many homeowners prefer to move in summer. Spring can go either way, a rush to buy which can run up prices or a period of looking and researching without buying, which can send prices lower (remember supply and demand is in effect here).

Summer 2009 - I don't know a Realtor® in San Antonio that had complaints about our summer. Buyers were out en masse and they were in the mood to make a purchase. Sure, it wasn't a "hot" summer market, but it was hot enough (our weather was a different story). As you can see, as demand goes up, inventory (supply) goes down and drives prices upwards. You can also account for some of the price increase with sellers hoping for a big summer sell off, so they enter the market with higher prices than they might have at the beginning or end of the year.

Fall and Winter 2009 - It's the holidays. Buyers aren't buying as much and sellers don't want people coming and going through their homes while they're gathering with family. In almost every real estate market across the country, things slow down. Prices come down and Homes Absorbed usually slows down as well. This year, I am still seeing some decent activity though, perhaps the extended and expanded First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is getting more buyers out in the colder weather (and yes, it has been cold lately).

If interest rates continue to stay at their current levels, I expect January and February 2010 will be good months for San Antonio sellers as buyers get back into their post-holiday routine and continue to search for homes in order to take advantage of the so-called "move-up" provision of the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit (as well as first time buyers continuing their home buying). As usual, I'll be here to report the shift as it happens.

Median Price for homes in SAN ANTONIO, TX All ZIP Codes as of December 4, 2009 is $179,890

If you're looking for constant updates on the real estate market in San Antonio by zip code, please visit the San Antonio Real Estate Market Reports section of the website or sign up for my weekly email real estate market reports below.