Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

San Antonio –Home sales figures in the San Antonio area continued to increase steadily throughout the year, with 2019 ending in a total of 34,430 homes sold, a seven percent year-over-year increase when compared to 2018, according to the Multiple Listing Service Report from the San Antonio Board of REALTORS® (SABOR) which reports on all areas contained within the MLS. Both the overall average and median sales prices for a home in the area in 2019 increased four percent, with the average rising to $270,275 and the median inching up to $233,800.

“Our numbers have continually maintained a steady rise throughout 2019 so seeing another record-breaking year of sales for our city is no surprise,” said Kim Bragman, SABOR’s 2020 Chairman. “San Antonio continues to be a top destination for both buyers and sellers, and it’s exciting to see such tremendous growth in people achieving their dreams of homeownership.”

Not only did the year as a whole boom, nearly every month except one (June) this year reported a year-over-year increase in total sales. Meanwhile inventory continued to favor sellers with months of inventory remaining below four months all year, reaching its lowest in December with just 3.3 months available. At its lowest, days on market fell to 51 days in September while on the high end February reported 69 days on the market.

Homes priced between $200,000 and $500,000 made up 59.5 percent of the sales in 2019, a seven percent increase from last year. Meanwhile homes priced under $200,000 accounted for 34.2 percent of the year’s market and homes priced over $500,000 accounted for 6.3 percent of the year’s sales.

A major point of interest for the military community in the San Antonio market is stability.  Year over year has seen a steady 4% increase in home valuation. The rental market has also remained steady throughout 2019 with no significant changes to average monthly rents during that time.

Heading into the end of the year, popular areas surrounding Fort Sam Houston and Joint Base San Antonio Bullis are seeing a smaller amount of inventory on market than in years past.  In addition to this, properties are typically on the market for an average of 67 days, up from 65 days last year but still below the national average for December 2019 of 79 days. Military families are facing competition and a willingness to keep apace of the market will serve them well.

For those families looking to sell, there are no shortage of buyers for housing that is priced right.  As always, proper pricing will go far in getting their home sale to the finish line, as a major issue affecting transactions is the interest rates buyers are running into during the mortgage process.  San Antonio saw an average price increase of 9%. This spike is due in part to interest rates reported during this time in 2018.

These numbers as well as other housing trends were highlighted during the San Antonio Board of REALTORS® 2020 Housing Forecast on January 14, 2020 at the JW Marriott to an audience of over 1,000 REALTOR® and Affiliate members. The event delved into local market conditions and industry trends as well as the positive outlook on the 2020 real estate market. Speakers included Dr. Jim Gaines, Chief Economist at the Texas A&M Real Estate Center; Dr. John Baen, Professor of Real Estate at the University of North Texas; and Molly Cox, President and CEO of SA2020.

“2019 was another standout year for home sales in the San Antonio area, and this event provided us the opportunity to review our market performance as well as share important data with our members on what to expect in the coming year,” said Gilbert S. Gonzalez, CEO for the San Antonio Board of REALTORS®. 

SABOR Multiple Listing Service Report: Home Sales Recap

*Percentage increases are based on a year-over-year comparison.