Land For Sale In San Antonio, Texas (TX)

Moving To San Antonio? This Might Help.

Medallion Homes:
Started in the year 1955, the company has served more than 3000 happy home owners. Medallion Homes has awarded "Builder of the year 2000", by National Association of Home Builder’s Research Center. The most recent award won by the company is, "Housing Pioneer", by San Antonio city for their development efforts. The company has bagged several awards, since their launch. Today, it is one of the respected and reputed home builders in the nation. The company moves environmental friendly as well as customer friendly building practices.

Shelly Home Company:
The company was founded on 1st January 1998, by Keith Shelly. He then started delivering quality homes at affordable prices. Being in the field for less than a decade, Shelly Home Company has won numerous awards including Star and Summit Awards for providing the quality customer service and construction at both local and state level. Also, they won Pacesetter Award in 2004, by Custom Home Magazine, for their top quality Customer Service.

Seton Home:
Seton Home has started their service in the late 1970s, after realizing the real needs for better quality homes at affordable prices, in San Antonio. By the time when company was started, there was no such facility that can meet the needs of all ages. The company offer residential facility for homeless pregnant and parenting teens and their babies as well.

Hearthside Homes:
From the launch in 1987, Hearthside Homes has built hundreds of homes, understanding the needs of their customers. They are well known for their custom home building, within the state. The very special feature of the company is, upgrading the homes. They pay more attention personally to each and every client which helped them to grow quicker within a short span of two decades. The company motto is, "We are the best people in the field to provide the best quality homes to the customers".

Smith’s Homes:
Speaking about Smith’s Homes, their experience in the field speaks a lot. Started in the year 1956, they have built thousands of lovely custom homes in many of the communities in and around San Antonio, in 40 years. They have bagged dozens of citations and awards for their excellence in the field. The company’s secret is, they apply their experience and knowledge on the projects they work on. Customer Satisfaction is said to be their goal.

Centex Homes:
This 58 years old company is one among the nation’s very large home builders. They are doing the business in 46 states. They are listed in Fortune magazines "America’s most admired companies".

By: Paul Escobedo

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San Antonio Real Estate And The Subprime Crisis

Executive Summary

Recently, newspapers, cable news services, and talking heads everywhere have been tossing around the phrase, ’subprime crisis’. What they are so indelicately referring to is the recent rise in defaults on subprime housing loans, and subsequent foreclosures on properties across the U.S. Many of these lenders now find themselves in real trouble, with some having declared Chapter 11, or having been delisted from the NYSE.

When started, subprime loans were a niche market, appealing to people with bad or no credit, and allowed these people who had previously been shut out of the American Dream, to take part in it, and to become homeowners. Subprime loans now make up roughly 25% of all housing loans.

Unfortunately, greed, and gaming of the system has facilitated the current crisis. By placing their clients in ‘exploding ARMs’ or adjustable rate loans, which end up blowing up in the face of the borrower, many companies have profited briefly, only to finally see the property go into foreclosure. ‘Flipping’ houses has been a contributing factor as well, artificially raising prices, and many times causing the ?flipper? to have to take out a subprime loan, to cover his investment when the market inevitably cooled off.

How all this will play out in the long run remains to be seen, but the effects of the ‘crisis’ can be lessened if borrowers and sellers both begin to act more responsibly and understand certain changes that should be instituted. Lenders must do everything in their power to keep people from losing their houses. Foreclosure has a far-reaching impact, not only economically, but socially as well. Newer, stricter guidelines must be applied, and due diligence on borrowers, should be practiced.

Borrowers have to understand how the loans work, and must do everything in their power to make their payments. Mortgage borrowers with lower credit scores may still be eligible for loans, but lenders may require higher down payments of up to 10-20%.

As far as the San Antonio real estate market is concerned, San Antonio, presently is not a problem area on the national level, but has seen its share of increases in foreclosures. Over the past two years, foreclosures are up 15%. San Antonio REALTORS must do the same as national real estate agents, and institute measures to help lessen the impact in south Texas, and in the rest of the country, also.

By: Roberto Bell

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Randy Watson and Roman Alfaro, Texas Real Estate Agents of Cowboy, REALTORS – Home & Ranch. You may read the complete article at: San Antonio Real Estate and Subprime Crisis.

Experts Watch San Antonio Real Estate Closely

Local real estate experts are keeping their eyes on the San Antonio real estate market – and conditions are definitely showing signs of improvement. There are currently about 4.71 months of new home inventory on the market right now, and in comparison to other cities which are struggling to decrease inventory, San Antonio is doing quite well. As new home inventory decreases, so do builder incentives. With less than five months of new home inventory available, buyers should look to take advantage of the incentives while they still can.

Is It A Buyer Or A Sellers Market?
Regarding San Antonio real estate, this question comes down to the value or cost of the home. If the property is $175,000 or below, the market favors the seller. If the home or property for sale exceeds $175,000, the market favors the buyer. Experts say that now is the time to buy due to low interest rates being offered between 6.25% – 6.50%. It would be considered a mistake for interest rates to drop any lower at this point.

Benefits of San Antonio Real Estate
The prices of homes for sale in San Antonio are low! The median home price in the area is only $150,800. The economy in San Antonio is quite stable however, and job growth is in a favorable state. With new employers setting up shop in San Antonio such as Toyota’s Tundra Truck Plant, The National Security Agency’s Satellite Center, Microsoft, Rackspace and The TPC San Antonio Golf Resort, high-paying jobs are not in short supply. Purchasing San Antonio real estate would definitely be considered a good investment. With an ideal climate considered to be a cross between Florida and Arizona, it is surprising that more house hunters haven’t considered the purchase of homes for sale in San Antonio. Also, San Antonio is the eight largest city in the nation.

Getting to Know San Antonio Real Estate
Best known for the number one tourist attraction in the nation, San Antonio is home to the Alamo. San Antonio is the place where Mexico and the United States meet and where the cultures of both places intertwine. The city of San Antonio is culturally fascinating and is very historical in nature. The King William Historic Area is twenty-five blocks that in the 1800’s served as an exclusive residential district. There are shopping areas and outdoor markets that resemble those in Mexico such as El Mercado. Another attraction in San Antonio, the San Antonio Botanical Gardens, offers visitors and residents the chance to experience all of Texas’ unique landscape. There is a tropical house, desert house, and fern room, among others. The area has an extremely reasonable cost of living compared to other U.S. cities and San Antonio real estate costs about thirty percent less than the national average.

With all of these benefits – a strong economy, an excellent choice of real estate in a good housing market, rich history, and a wonderful cultural diversity that few cities can offer – San Antonio makes a wonderful place to call home.

By: Richard Soto 1

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As specialists in the San Antonio real estate, San Antonio commercial real estate, and Dallas condos markets, VIP Realty offers in-depth market analysis and updated news.

Five Us Cities Where Real Estate Has Been Hardest Hit

The upside to this down market is that investors now have a plethora of investments to choose from. From sea to shining sea, you see For Sale signs popping up on front lawns everywhere. It is, most definitely, a buyer’s market and will be for some time to come.

The very best deals are typically in the markets that are hardest hit. If you want to know where to investigate for investments, you should check out the following five U.S. cities for the best real estate deals:

#1 – Detroit, MI – The city hardest hit by the economy, Detroit, experienced 4.8 times the national average for foreclosures last year. Homes in this city start from as low as $1,400.00. No, that’s not a typo. They literally start from as low as one-thousand four-hundred dollars. That’s about $1.22 per square foot. It would cost you more to build one of these houses. So, how could you not invest in rental property in this city with prices this low? Detroit, however, is not known for its safety. No, on the contrary, it’s actually the second most dangerous city in which to live in the whole U.S. of A. Regardless, you have to admit, that is some pretty tempting pricing on that Detroit real estate. Keep in mind, you don’t have to live there to invest, and there are property management companies that you can hire to manage the property for you.

#2 – Stockton, CA – This city has 4.8% of its households in some form of foreclosure action. Homes in Stockton start from as low as $20,000, and rent for as low as $390 per month. That’s a record low for even the Stockton area. Speaking of records, there a record number of homes being auctioned off in this area, too. It’s unfathomable. Who would not want to invest in this area? Unfortunately, this city is not known for being safe, either. Stockton ranked number eight on the list of the most dangerous metropolitan areas in which to live. There are some very good deals here, though, so you may want to pencil one of these auctions into your busy investing schedule.

#3 – Las Vegas – No, it’s not true. Au contraire, everything that happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas where a 4.2% foreclosure rate has been noted. This once very booming city that sprawled with new growth is now somewhat stigmatized. Due to exceptionally rapid growth, home values became over-inflated over such a short period of time that when the real estate crash abruptly occurred there, it left many home owners holding the bag on homes that won’t be worth their purchase price for years to come. In spite of this, there are still lots of good deals in this market. Home prices start from as low as $126,000. Las Vegas is also ranked fourth on the list of most dangerous metropolitan cities.

#4 – Riverside-San Bernardino – California has been one of the states hit hardest by the down economy in regards to real estate. Average home prices still beat out the national average, but individual home prices have plummeted. Homes start as low as $25,000 in these markets, record lows for both. San Bernardino is the twenty-fourth most dangerous city and eighth most dangerous metropolitan city, although, Riverside did not fall within the top cities for crime.

#5 – Sacramento – Ranked fifth in the list of best cities to buy real estate is Sacramento. Midtown Sacramento, a.k.a. The Grid, has hip bistros and shops that cover the twenty-four square blocks at its center. Even this area of Sacramento holds exceptional real estate investment opportunities, including commercial properties. Home prices start at an incredible low of $15,000 in this market. This city did not fall within the top cities for crime.

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Inside real estate operates sites that cover Dallas real estate and San Antonio real estate. They also have a site covering the El Paso real estate market.

The Success Of The San Antonio Real Estate Community Development Summit

The city of San Antonio recently hosted the 2008 Community Development Summit entitled ‘Lessons from the Past – Opportunities for a Sustainable Future.’

The summit, which took place on September 15, 16 and 17 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, focused on all areas of building and maintaining the local economy via education, reinvestment and the coordination of city resources.

Some of the activities of the summit included panel discussions, presentations, tours and training, all of which focused on reinvestment planning, leveraging private sector investment and coordinating city resources.

Some of the attendees of this summit included housing developers, financial lenders, affordable housing providers, community development organizations, neighborhood associations and average citizens.

Some of the seminars, presentations and sessions focused on:

Foreclosure prediction and prevention
School-based financial education programs – The private sector can impact the communities that they serve by educating children and young adults on basic money management, banking, savings, credit and loans. Knowledge of basic finance is vital to everybody’s success.
Consumer credit – Education programs and personal counseling in money management, debt management, and comprehensive housing counseling are needed within a community. Improving general financial knowledge within the community can fight credit and foreclosure crises, thereby improving the performance of the economy.
Transportation programs
Integrating schools and universities into sustainable communities
Community development networks and intermediaries
Community land trusts and long-term affordability – Community Land Trusts are member based non-profit organizations that are used to provide access to affordable land and housing, promote long-term community involvement, and to preserve affordability of housing by protecting a neighborhood against gentrification and real estate speculation.
Sustainable ‘green’ building – Building green homes has long-term benefits for the occupants, the surrounding community, and the environment that we all share. Making green building affordable must involve a shared commitment and active partnership among neighborhood organizations, developers, lenders, and local government.
Coordinating city resources
Benefits of Complete Streets: Public Health and Market Value
Rapid Transit Success Stories
Sustainable Neighborhoods through Low Impact Development
The Practical Challenges of Infill Development – Infill development can provide affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization and reinvestment, and walkable, transit-oriented communities. Many external factors, such as the context of the real estate market, the community, the economy, and the government can affect the feasibility of beneficial infill development.
Housing and Transportation: Affordability Index in San Antonio
Restoring and Maintaining Community Pride – The Extreme Neighborhood Sweep Program is a comprehensive effort of City services coordinated to provide education and services from various partner developments. Each department brings to the table certain services and information that residents can utilize to beautify their neighborhood and improve their quality of life.
Community Indicators Project: Assess quality of life
Green Spaces for Sustainable Neighborhoods
Sustainable Development for Commercial Buildings
Alternative Lending Practices
Restoring prosperity through Main Street Partnership
Preservation of affordable housing
Tax credits in redevelopment – Tax Credits assist with economic revitalization and community development through investment by utilizing Historic Preservation Tax Credits, New Market Tax Credits, and Low Income Housing Tax Credits.
New redevelopment trends
Neighborhood associations in community development
New trends in urban development
Current preservation policies and efforts for historic building – Historic preservation strategies such as historic designation, tax credits, and revolving loans can increase tourism, commercial property values, and encourage additional neighborhood investment. Evaluate City codes in such areas as building, fire, and zoning to support historic preservation and adaptive reuse.

San Antonio real estate continues to grow in historical value, and these summits are a testament to the strong community values that exist in this great area.

By: Richard Soto.

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As specialists in Dallas real estate and San Antonio homes for sale , VIP Realty offers in-depth market analysis and updated news to help people find the best residential and commercial property for their needs.