San Antonio, Texas: Real Estate Forecast Through Spring 2019
Recent predictions for the San Antonio, Texas real estate market point to rising home prices through the remainder of 2018 and into 2019. Price growth is expected to slow down a bit over the coming months, compared to the gains recorded over the past 12 months. Bear in mind, however, that these are just predictions.
San Antonio, TX Housing Market Predictions
The San Antonio real estate market is still experiencing a below-average level of supply. Housing demand, meanwhile, appears to be strong. This imbalance is putting upward pressure on home prices and will likely keep house values moving north for the foreseeable future. That’s the latest forecast for the San Antonio real estate market, through 2018 and into spring 2019.
As of May 2018, the median home value for the Texas city was $165,000, according to data reported by Zillow. That was roughly 8% higher than the same month a year earlier. So clearly, prices within the San Antonio real estate market have climbed considerably over the last year.
But the latest forecast for the San Antonio housing market suggests that home values could slow down a bit, into the second half of 2018. Zillow’s economic research team recently predicted that the median house price for this market could climb by only 2.6% over the next 12 months (through spring 2019).
In May 2018, the company stated:
“The median home value in San Antonio is $165,000. San Antonio home values have gone up 8.1% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 2.6% within the next year.”
The median house value for this market was around $165,000 as of May 2018. Other sources were reported a median sales price of around $180,000, during that same month.
Related: A positive outlook for Dallas-Fort Worth
Tight Supply Conditions Are Boosting Home Prices
When you look at the current supply-and-demand situation in San Antonio’s real estate market, it’s easy to understand why economists are forecasting continued price growth. Housing inventory remains tight in the city, forcing buyers to compete for limited supply.
As of April 2018, the San Antonio real estate market had about a 2.5-month supply of homes for sale. This is a theoretical metric used to track inventory levels over time. This means it would take two and a half months to sell off all the homes currently for sale, if no new properties came onto the market in the meantime.
According to housing analysts and economists, a “balanced” real estate market has closer to six months of supply. San Antonio was well below that level as of spring 2018, which means the market still favors home sellers over buyers. This is a common trend we are seeing in cities across the country right now. Call it the year of the seller’s market.
Given the current conditions (and forecasts) for the San Antonio housing market, home buyers should be prepared for competition when searching for a house. Buyers would also be wise to research the market in advance, have their financing lined up, and put together a strong offer based on comparable sales.
Mortgage Rates Recently Hit a 7-Year High
It will be interesting to see how rising mortgage rates affect the San Antonio real estate market in the latter half of 2018. We’ve seen a steady rise in rates since the beginning of this year. In fact, a recent report showed that the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage loan (the most popular mortgage product among borrowers) recently rose to its highest point in seven years.
On May 24, 2018, Freddie Mac published the results of its latest mortgage-industry survey. According to that report: “Mortgage rates moved up over the past week to 4.66 percent, their highest level since May 5, 2011.”
Normally, this kind of trend has a dampening effect on real estate markets (fewer buyers, fewer sales, etc.). But these are not normal times. The tight inventory conditions in San Antonio — and in many other cities across the country — could offset any cooling effect brought on by rising rates. But only time will tell.
Disclaimer: This article contains forecasts and predictions for the real estate market in San Antonio, Texas, looking ahead as far as spring of 2019. These “future-looking” statements and projections were provided by third parties not associated with our company. We have gathered them here as an educational service to our readers.
