It's getting to be old hat with various surveys conducted by a plethora of sources throughout the country. Once again, San Antonio has been ranked favorably as a great place to live. Although all sources of these polls are important, it's especially gratifying to have received accolades from the prestigious Mortgage Bankers Association, which has a first hand focus on what's happening in the national housing market. Citing its high employment rate, population growth and better-than-average price appreciation as key factors, the Mortgage Bankers Association proclaimed San Antonio as one of the top markets in the country for home buyers.
San Antonio's median home prices continued to perform better than all U.S. regions, dipping only one percent from October of last year through October 2008 versus an 11.3 percent drop nationwide, according to data released Monday by the National Association of Realtors. The Southern region, in which San Antonio is located, showed the lowest decline in the nation at 5.8 percent, according the release.
"With 95 percent employment and people moving in, your glass is more than half full," said David kittle, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association. "You are the benchmark for the rest of the country in lending and building.
Pretty strong words. And if the current trend continues, San Antonio's historical stable growth patterns, which avoided the large acceleration in prices in the 2005-2006 timeframe, will result in a surge in property values long before most of the rest of the nation when our economy begins its return to normal.
As reported in a previous article, home values in northwest San Antonio are actually marginally higher than they were during the peak period of acceleration in 2006-2007. If we are near the bottom of the market decline nationwide, and barring a major setback in the current predictions that our economy will soon begin to experience a resurgence, I see no reason why the coming year in San Antonio home sales shouldn't be better than in 2008.
For more articles by Ed Barrett, please visit www.EdBarrettHomefinders.com. If you're considering a move to San Antonio and would like to receive a full analysis of the San Antonio real estate market, or a particular neighborhood, Ed can be contacted at EdBarrett@satx.rr.com, or (210) 681-5252.