San Antonio's housing market expected on improve in 2009

San Antonio's housing market should get better in 2009. This prediction is based on reports made at the annual San Antonio Board of Realtors' Housing Forecast on January 6. However, the median home price in San Antonio and Bexar County is expected to stay pretty much the same.

Chief Economist Mark Dotzour of the Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center noted, "In 2008, San Antonio had job growth, cheap mortgages and positive price appreciation but declining volumes. It tells me local economics are not the issue. It's a lack of confidence in our government. And when that is repaired, buyers will start buying again."

For the whole city, the appreciation was 1% and the median sales price was $150,400 for 2008. Plus, home sales declined 18 percent. However,, some neighborhoods actually saw appreciation of 5% during 2008, including:

- Colonies North, a mid-century suburb near the city's Medical Center ripe for updating, as was the one in the photo

- Rogers Ranch, just north of Loop 1604, with both custom and high-end tract homes, some still under construction

- Cordillera Ranch, a horse-friendly neighborhood with 5-acre-and-up homesites, situated between Boerne and Canyon Lake

- Terrell Hills, near Fort Sam Houston and downtown, undergoing remodeling and teardowns to rebuild

More good news is that foreclosures were at 0.6% statewide. Nationally, 1.1% of homes on the market in the third quarter of 2008 were foreclosures.

The San Antonio market, although still a buyer's market, has come closer to balance as new-home inventory has decreased. The strong economy of San Antonio and Texas in-migration has helped, too.