Thursday, August 18, 2011

Facts For San Antonio Home Buyers

Here are some facts for home buyers thinking about moving, or on the way, to San Antonio.

San Antonio has long been identified as one of America's most unique cities.

It isn't small, in fact, it's the nation's 7th largest city, yet there's still a small town feel in many of its unique and culturally diverse neighborhoods.

The city goes by many names - San Antonio (of course), The Alamo City, Military City USA, The River City, and, most recently, America's Military Medical City. Just don't call it San Antone (San An Tone). The natives hate that pronunciation!

San Antonio is the home of 3 major military bases and some smaller military camps and posts, so, as you'd expect, it has a relatively young military age population. City-Data.com cites 34.7 years as the median resident age. The neighborhoods closest to the military bases tend to have a much younger population.

Of course, as a sun belt city, it is a major relocation site for retiree families seeing a warm climate and relatively low cost of living.

Speaking of cost, for buyers needing a mortgage loan, there's an ample supply of trustworthy lenders. Landing a loan is another issue. Underwriters are picky-picky-picky nowadays. They seem to go out of their way to deny loan applications. Naturally, buyers with the very best income and credit scores have no problem obtaining their loans. On the other hand, even the smallest blemish on a buyer's credit report or an irregular income flow can be the kiss is death for getting a mortgage loan. So, before you go San Antonio house hunting, talk with a lender about your chances of getting your mortgage loan.

What about the availability of newly built and resale homes?

San Antonio has an ample supply of home builders eager for business as well a many available resale homes. Historically, the area's real estate market has favored new home builders because their freshly built products have proven more competitive than resale homes. A recent offsetting trend has seen San Antonio area builders putting less available new home inventory on the ground, indicating the builders are now satisfied with marketing to buyers who can afford the time to contract for a to-be-built home.

What about commute time to affordable neighborhoods? Basically, the Alamo City's commute times and distances are nothing compared to other large metro areas. Although the San Antonio metropolitan area is large and very spread out, buyers can usually find quality affordable housing within a 20 to 30 minute commute to work.

How about recreation and shopping amenities? No problem! San Antonio is one of the nation's top destination cities for tourism and shopping.

Finally, what about friendliness and newcomer acceptance? Again, no problem! Cities with large military populations aren't known to shut out newcomers. After all, San Antonio is Military City USA. So, don't expect a newcomer to find rejection. Everybody's welcome!

Do you want more information? Just let us know and we'll fill in the details.

We're Stephanie and Randy Kelley, Realtors® of Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions, need San Antonio area 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 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 and selling needs.

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