About San Antonio Residential Property Taxes

We get lots of  home buyer questions about San Antonio area residential property taxes.

It's understandable why property taxes are a matter of buyer concern.  Almost every buyer we encounter has heard someone complain that Texas real estate taxes are confusing.

Basically, it's not easy to answer property tax inquiries without doing some detailed research. 

Why?

In addition to San Antonio, the largest city in Bexar (pronounced exactly like "bear") County,  there are 20 smaller cities located in the county.   In addition to the cities, there are many other types of Bexar County taxing units, including, but not limited to, 11 independent school districts, 1 metropolitan utility district, a university health system, a community college district, the San Antonio River Authority, and two emergency service districts.

So, here's why a seemingly simple property tax question get complicated. 

In Bexar County, it's not unusual to have a residential property fall within the jurisdiction of one set of taxing units while a neighboring property falls within the jurisdiction of a slightly, or even significantly different, set of taxing units.  It's simply an issue of property location and taxing jurisdiction boundaries.

So, if you are a San Antonio/Bexar County home buyer, how do you go about determining the property tax rate for a particular area or for a specific property?

You might use a factor of 2.2% of appraised value.  That's the median property tax rate; but, be prepared to be disappointed with that factor, first, because the rates are so variable around the county and, second, you'll need to know a property's appraised value if you want to know about the tax bill for a specific property.

If you know the address of a property located in your area of interest, you can go to the
Bexar County Appraisal District website and do a free search for tax information about the property. The results will show the property's taxing jurisdictions and the aggregate property tax percentage rate.

Be prepared to experience some frustration with the site because you have to have the property's address just right or else the program won't find it.

If you don't want to do the research yourself, ask a Realtor® to do it for you.  Realtors® are expert property tax investigators, for both geographic areas and individual properties.

We will happy to answer your Bexar County/San Antonio property tax questions.  Just call or send an email.

We’re Stephanie and Randy Kelley, Realtors® at Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions, need San Antonio realty or mortgage loan advice or assistance, or just want to chat a bit about the wonderful Alamo City, please call us at (210) 863-2661 or (210) 867-8743, or email us at swkrealtor@aol.com or kelleybus@aol.com. Our SanAntonioHomeQuest.com Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs.

We love to answer questions about San Antonio residential property taxes.




 

Buying A New Versus Resale San Antonio Home

Here’s the sananantoniohomequest.com Realty Solutions Team’s evaluation of the pros and cons of buying a new versus a resale San Antonio home.

First, keep this in mind. The appeal of a new home is so great that, over the 19+ years we’ve represented home buyers, 80% have bought a newly constructed home. It’s easy to see why.

■Each year, the builders seem to have more and more enticing features built into their products.

■The homes are new and unspoiled. They don’t have the expected wear and tear found in every resale home, no matter its age.

■The builders’ lending programs are very competitive and the builders ofter offer additional incentives to encourage the buyer to use their affiliate lenders. That’s particularly true toward the end of the year.

■Texas law requires the builder to warrant the home’s structure for 10 years.

■The appliances are warranted by the manufacturers in accordance with their standard warranty programs. The home’s other components & systems are usually warranted for a minimum of 1 year and sometimes up to 3 years.

■In terms of settlement costs, they can be reduced by using a builder’s cash incentive, if one is offered.

What about a resale home?

■Resale homes over 10 years of age come without a warranty, however we encourage the buyer to negotiate for a seller paid 1 year home protection plan. Usually the seller will agree to buy the plan in order to sweeten the deal and help seal the sale.

■Resale homes usually come with owner installed features that new homes don’t have - things like upgraded blinds, curtain rods, garage shelving, etc. If you are short on the money needed to improve a new home, then a resale home might work out better.

■If you need help with a resale home’s settlement costs, we can negotiate for seller to contribute to your closing costs. Sometimes it works, sometimes not; and, your lenders might limit the seller’s contribution to approximately 3% of the sales price.

In summary, when balancing the pros and cons of buying new vs. resale, there are many factors to consider and many opinions to be heard and evaluated. You usually won’t have a feel of the way you’ll go until you’ve personally seen a few resale and new homes, listened to some sales pitches, and driven around some new vs. established resale home neighborhoods.

The preceding advice is commonsensical, but, when comparing resale to new construction homes, some pros and cons aren’t always evident. We have your back on these issues and will let you know when you might not be seeing a consideration that’s important.

We’re Stephanie and Randy Kelley, Realtors® at Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions, need San Antonio realty or mortgage loan advice or assistance, or just want to chat a bit about the wonderful Alamo City, please call us at (210) 863-2661 or (210) 867-8743, or E-mail us at swkrealtor@aol.com or kelleybus@aol.com. Our SanAntonioHomeQuest.com Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs.

Call us for our advice about buying a new versus resale San Antonio Home

Interesting San Antonio Home Selling & Buying Survey

Here's a recent San Antonio home selling and buying survey with a very interesting outcome.

It’s from Credit Suisse, a leading world wide financial services company specializing in advising clients about all aspects of finance, including real estate.

Each month, Credit Suisse surveys leading Realtors ® across the Nation to determine conditions in their market areas.

Here are the October 2010 survey results for San Antonio - the 7th largest realty market in the United States:

■Buyer traffic is below expectations for the season.

■Resale home owners are lowering their prices and offering creative buyer incentives. Home builders are offering more incentives.

■The length of time to sell a home is increasing. That’s usually an indication of continuing price declines in coming months.

Credit Suisse reports these interesting comments from real estate agents:

■“The terrible economy combined with tighter lending practices have discouraged people from buying”

■“Buyers only become seriously interested if sellers are willing to cut prices.”

Is this truly a a doom and gloom scenario for San Antonio real estate?  Absolutely not!

San Antonio homes are still being listed and sold at a slower but steady pace. A home seller who is willing to set a realistic listing price and make improvements to put the best face on the property is most likely to quickly find a buyer willing to take advantage of lower prices and fantastically low mortgage interest rates.

In this market, proper preparation on the part of both sellers and buyers pays off.

If you’re looking for the most reliable advice about how to go about selling or buying a San Antonio home, call us.

We’re Stephanie and Randy Kelley, Realtors® at Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions, need San Antonio realty or mortgage loan advice or assistance, or just want to chat a bit about the wonderful Alamo City, please call us at (210) 863-2661 or (210) 867-8743, or E-mail us at swkrealtor@aol.com or kelleybus@aol.com. Our SanAntonioHomeQuest.com Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs.

We solicit your positive and negative comments about this interesting San Antonio home selling & buying survey.

Sunday, November 7 - Turn Your Clocks Back

Friendly Reminder… Time change this weekend, November 7th – clocks turn back 1 hour.

Compliments of:

JAY GILMORE
Senior Loan Officer
W.R. Starkey Mortgage
Office: 210-545-9300
e-Fax: 866-694-0243
Cell: 210-287-2659
jgilmore@wrstarkey.com
http://www.leavejayaloan.com/
NMLS# 232136

When it's time to buy or sell a San Antonio home, call on us.

We're Stephanie and Randy Kelley, Realtors® at Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions, need San Antonio realty or mortgage loan advice or assistance, or just want to chat a bit about our wonderful Alamo City, please call us at (210) 863-2661 or (210) 867-8743, or E-mail us at swkrealtor@aol.com or kelleybus@aol.com. Our SanAntonioHomeQuest.com Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs.

Don't Forget - Sunday, November 7 - Turn Your Clocks Back

November 2010 San Antonio Realty Market Report

It's Autumn in South Texas. Bright beautiful days, balmy afternoons, and cooler nights herald the approaching holiday season. Residents and tourists are out and about, delighting in San Antonio's most pleasant season.

Typically, San Antonio's residential realty market also cools in the fall and early winter months; however, this year, realty sales may be much cooler than usual.  Here's why.

Twelve months ago, driven by the Federal First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Program, San Antonio's realty market was in the midst of a home buying frenzy.

The tax credit program was initially very successful as an exceptionally large number of home buyers rushed to purchase their first homes. Although the program prompted elevated home sales across the board, the inventory of properties priced below $150,000 sold off faster than homes in the higher priced categories.

After the tax credit program ended in April 2010, the market quickly drew back. Clearly, the tax credit program's success had drawn much of the energy out the market for the coming months.

Now, San Antonio area home sales and list prices are well below average for the second half of the year. Home values in some neighborhoods have depreciated and sellers have lowered their list prices accordingly. Nonetheless, buyer response has been tepid and the inventory of homes on the market remains high.

In order to attract buyers, owners of resale homes are offering attractive concessions and home builders are advertising enticing incentives.

Given the uncertain national economy, it's difficult to reach conclusions about San Antonio's long term realty market trends, but in the short term, it's clear San Antonio's home market remains relatively healthy and extremely favorable for buyers.

As for sellers, the advantage goes to the home seller most willing to reduce his or her price expectations and expend the money, time, and effort to improve the property's condition and appearance.

Looking ahead, all key economic indicators are positive for the San Antonio realty market's continued growth. Contributing factors are the city's low unemployment rate, a history of sustained job growth, and the activities of a highly successful alliance of politicians, government agencies, and private entities focused on supporting local business development and encouraging outside corporations to locate to the area.

Of particular note for the coming year is the continuing infusion of manpower, money, and material resources associated the area's Military Base Realignment and Closing (BRAC) projects.

For those who love stats, here are the key indicators for San Antonio's single family detached home listings as of 3 November 2010.

There are 12,053 homes for sale compared to 11,073 one year ago. The inventory is high but trending slightly downward. The plentiful inventory is a favorable sign for home buyers.

The average sales price for the most recent closings is $183,120, compared to last year's $169,225. That's an unreliable indicator because of the large number of lower priced properties sold in 2009 under the tax incentive program. An analysis of longer term data indicates an absence of any significant sales price appreciation since 2007. That's another good sign for buyers.

Average cumulative-days-on-the-market (CDOM) for the most recent sales is 127 compared to 128 last year. During 2009, CDOM figures were unacceptably high, but dropped fast during the Federal Tax credit home buying frenzy. It remains to be seen if cumulative market time will improve further, but a slight upward trend is possible. Nonetheless, for the time being, CDOM data is positive for San Antonio home sellers, specifically, and for San Antonio's realty market, generally.

Industry analysts see these data as reflecting a housing market strongly favoring buyers over sellers.

That's all for our November 2010 San Antonio realty market report. We encourage reader comments and recommendations about how to make our reports more informative and useful.

Wishing you a happy Thanksgiving holiday, we're Stephanie and Randy Kelley, Realtors® at Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions, need San Antonio realty or mortgage loan advice or assistance, or just want to chat a bit about the wonderful Alamo City, please call us at (210) 863-2661 or (210) 867-8743, or E-mail us at swkrealtor@aol.com or kelleybus@aol.com. Our SanAntonioHomeQuest.com Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs.