Inside San Antonio Real Estate

It is almost that time of year again, the time when school lets out and families start planning summer vacations. If your family is like others, you try to get creative and try new things. You want to go different places, see new things and have new memories.

For a new twist on your vacation, why not try vacationing at a dude ranch? It can be adventurous, fun and exciting. The Dixie Dude Ranch in Bandera, Texas is just right outside San Antonio, in the hill country. The ranch is an old time stock ranch that offers vacations. The dude ranch is still in operation and has been for five generations.

Visitors at the dude ranch can enjoy hiking, horseback riding, swimming, fishing, dancing, hayrides and much more. The ranch offers 20 different units within duplex cabins, cottages and a two story bunkhouse. All of the cabins have air conditioning, private baths and a few even have fireplaces for those who love sitting in front of a fire. All the accommodations are rustic, but very comfortable!

The dude ranch has a fishing pond for its guests to fish in, only rule is it is a catch and release pond, the ranch will even provide the gear you need to fish!

Each day when the dinner bell rings, visitors are treated to a real dude ranch feast! All meals are cooked from scratch, just like they did it in the old days.

Visitors can also hike the trails and hunt for fossils, arrowheads and even check out an old Range War cemetery.

There are many attractions around the dude ranch for your family to see. The Frontier Times Museum is located in Bandera. There is the Cowboy Artists of America Museum just down the road in Kerrville. If caves are your thing, you may want to visit the "Cave without a name" in Boerne. Take the family for a day in the park at Sea World or Fiesta Texas, just down the road in San Antonio.

There are plenty of fun things to do at the dude ranch. It is a unique vacation idea, and something that gets you and your family away from the big city and fast pace.

Spending time with your family outside, without bright lights, loud music and cars could be just what your family is looking for.

Roast marshmallows over a campfire and telling stories, whether it is ghost stories or just old family memories. Take a family ride on horseback and enjoy the great outdoors and all of the beauty that the hill country has to offer.

If you're tired and sore after your long horseback ride, take advantage of one of the two massage therapists the ranch has on hand. They can be very therapeutic and relaxing.

If you love animals, Dixie Dude Ranch is the place to be. They have cattle, horses, goats and everything a working dude ranch needs. There is also lots of wildlife to see. Everything from deer to coyote and maybe a bob cat or two!


Jill works with Inside San Antonio. Their site helps buyers and sellers interested in San Antonio Tx real estate. Their site has information on San Antonio schools and a blog covering the San Antonio real estate market.

Sales jumped in San Antonio this month going from 828 to 1124. While the market is still down for the year this is a decent improvement. While sales are down 27.25 percent the average price is up 3.11 percent from last year going from 170,600 to 175,900. Below are stats for the last 3 years.

San Antonio currently seems to be one of the stronger markets around the country. But it still is much weaker than it was the last 2 years.
To read more market updates you can see our San Antonio real estate blog

The stats are published for the San Antonio real estate market. There were 828 sales. This was 41 percent lower than the number of sales San Antonio saw 2 years ago (1421) and 33 percent lower than than the number of sales seen last year (1235). One interesting side note is that the average sales price is up 7.87 percent compared to last year. The months of inventory is 7.8 which indicates a buyers market but is not as bad as some other markets around the country.
It looks like the market came down for a lot of different markets this January. And although the market has been down for awhile January seemed to be an outlier. Hopefully the market will improve next month with low interest rates and the government new $8000 tax credit. More statistics at San Antonio Real Estate Blog stats provided by San Antonio Real Estate

Located on Interstate 35 between Austin and San Antonio is New Braunfels. Founded in 1845 by German settlers, and the word "Braunfels" actually means "Brown rock" in German and this community is actually named after the city Braunfels in Germany. The current population of New Braunfels is about 52,000. This little town is full of old world heritage and charm.

The historic district is a great place to start. There are museums, performing arts and many places to shop, eat and relax. There are many attractions nearby, including The Natural Bridge Caverns Wildlife Ranch, lots of shopping and much more.

Each November the city celebrates the German heritage by having "Wurstfest," also known as a sausage festival. Wurstfest began back in 1961 and drew a crowd of nearly 2,000 people. 48 years later, the festival has grown popular and has expanded. They now have an arts and craft show and have earned a spot on national television; in 2006, the festival was spotlighted on "Good Morning America!"

Perhaps the most popular thing about New Braunfels is Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort. It is a 65 acre water resort that people from all over the country come to visit. The park has miles of tube chutes, endless rivers, water coasters and much, much more. It is designed to accommodate every family member, from young to old. Schlitterbahn also provides free parking; free life jackets and visitors are allowed to bring their own picnic lunch into the park.

Schlitterbahn is not the only attraction in New Braunfels. There are a number of things to do and see in this German town. Gruene Hall is Texas' oldest dance halls; built in 1878 and has been the birth place of many famous people such as George Strait, Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl King and many more. They provide live entertainment daily.

New Braunfels is also famous for scenic white water rafting down the Guadalupe River. There are several places to rent tubes, floats and canoes.

Although New Braunfels is a fairly large city, residents feel safe in this close knit community. It is large, but has a small town feel to it. Friday night football games bring out entire families to cheer for their home team, birthdays are still listed in the community papers and new residents and visitors are always welcomed with a smile.

New Braunfels is proud of their heritage and has earned the "Preserve America Communities" award. The communities who receive this award have celebrated and protected their heritage, use their historic assets for economic development and encourage people to experience local historic resources through education. This award comes with White House recognition, a certificate and a "Preserve America" road sign. All of which this community should be proud of!

New Braunfels has also received the "National Trust for Historic Preservation" award.

The next time you are traveling through New Braunfels, take time to stop in and see the sites. Whether you live nearby or are just traveling, make this city one of your destinations.


Jill works with Inside Realty. They have a site that covers the San Antonio Texas real estate. They also post regular updates on their San Antonio real estate blog

December 2008 was San Antonio’s tenth straight month of double-digit percentage loss in number of home sales in 2008. There were 20.08 percent fewer homes sold in December 2008 than in December 2007, which is a difference of 339 homes. The 1349 homes sold was also the fewest number of homes sold in the market, excluding November, since January 2008, and the third fewest in the entire two year snapshot illustrated below.





The two year picture is worse. December 2008 was 32.95 percent behind December 2006, which is the difference of 663 homes. This drop also continues a trend of double digit fall off from each month’s 2006 counterpart since February, which posted a 9.38 percent drop, so it was not a healthy month either.

More statistics at San Antonio Real Estate Blog stats provided by San Antonio Real Estate