Why You Should Buy San Antonio Investment Properties Right Now (2024)

Looking for your next investment purchase? San Antonio investment properties might just be what you’re looking for!

The Texas real estate market is home to some iconic cities like Dallas, Houston, and Austin. Property investors, however, should keep their eyes on the San Antonio housing market! This city is not only rich with history and culture, but it’s also growing in investment opportunities and quickly becoming one of the best places to buy real estate. Here’s what makes buying San Antonio investment properties for sale a smart decision.

Fast Growth

When looking at any housing market for investment opportunities, the first thing you have to find in that market is growth. If you find that, you’ve found the right location for your real estate investing business. When I say “growth”, I’m mainly talking about economic growth, employment growth, and population growth. These factors are linked to one another – a city with a growing economy will offer more job opportunities which attract more and more people. This is exactly what’s happening in San Antonio.

San Antonio is the 2^nd largest city in Texas and the 7^th largest in the US housing market, so it only makes sense that it has a strong economy. This thriving city also has an unemployment rate below the national average and a growing job market, specifically in pivotal sectors like technology, cyber-security, manufacturing, renewable energy, and bioscience. Moreover, residents of San Antonio get to enjoy a cost of living that is slightly below the national average, mainly due to lower housing costs and no state income tax.

Related: The Best States With No Property Tax for Real Estate Investing

For those, and many other reasons, the U.S. News & World Report ranked the city among its best places to live. People are moving to the city in increasing numbers, causing the demand for real estate properties to increase. Savvy real estate investors know that increasing demand is a sign to start searching for San Antonio investment properties for sale in the housing market.

Home Prices

If you’ve been in the real estate investing business for a while, you’d know that increasing demand pushes up home prices. This is especially true when the supply of housing inventory isn’t keeping up with the demand. When you look at the current supply and demand situation in the San Antonio real estate market, you’ll notice that the housing inventory is still tight, causing economics to forecast a continuing increase of home prices. Consequently, this makes San Antonio a sellers’ market.

Real estate buyers, however, shouldn’t worry too much about this as prices aren’t growing to the extent where it becomes too expensive to buy an investment property. According to our Investment Property Calculator, the median property price in San Antonio is $289,257 ($130.09 price per square foot). Moreover, unless you’re looking in the downtown area, you can find even cheaper San Antonio investment properties in many areas of the city. For example, using our Property Finder Tool, we located these very affordable properties in the San Antonio housing market:

Property 1:

List Price: $100,000
Estimated Value: $95,886
Traditional Cash on Cash Return: 11.15%

Property 2:

List Price: $75,500
Estimated Value: $73,082
Traditional Cash on Cash Return: 10.67%

Property 3:

List Price: $79,900
Estimated Value: $75,628
Traditional Cash on Cash Return: 9.98%

The best part is, you can buy these and start making money out of them RIGHT NOW! Click here for more information on these properties and use our Property Finder and find San Antonio investment properties for sale in a matter of minutes!

Short-Term Rentals

One thing that makes San Antonio stand out from other big cities is its standing on short-term rentals such as Airbnb (which have created an added source of rental income for many homeowners and property investors). While some big cities set policies regarding such rental properties, San Antonio is one of the few cities that has remained silent on the matter. It neither allows nor prohibits short-term rentals and, to this point, renting out on platforms like Airbnb has not been regulated.

One thing worth mentioning is that the San Antonio City Council members proposed a short-term rental ordinance back in April. It’ll be reviewed over the next few months, so we recommend keeping up with this before renting out San Antonio investment properties on Airbnb.

Related: Your Real Estate Investment Guide to Airbnb Rental Properties: Where Is Airbnb Legal?

In addition, the San Antonio tourism industry is one reason you might want to start renting out San Antonio investment properties on Airbnb. The city is always welcoming visitors and attracting them with sites like The Alamo, Riverwalk, and popular dining destinations.

The Alamo

According to our investment property calculator, the Airbnb occupancy rate in the city is 50.19% and the average Airbnb rental income is $2,479. If you’re wondering where to invest in Airbnb rentals in San Antonio, here are some of the best neighborhoods to consider according to Mashvisor’s investment property calculator:

Saddlebrook Farms

Median Property Price: $233,002
Price Per Sq/Ft: $109.12
Airbnb Rental Income: $2,970
Occupancy Rate: 50.5%
Cash on Cash Return: 6.75%

Rainbow Hills

Median Property Price: $218,981
Price Per Sq/Ft: $103.18
Airbnb Rental Income: $2,887
Occupancy Rate: 62.4%
Cash on Cash Return: 6.9%

The Heights at Stone Oak II

Median Property Price: $398,044
Price Per Sq/Ft: $137.97
Airbnb Rental Income: $3,610
Occupancy Rate: 56.4%
Cash on Cash Return: 4.42%

Trophy Ridge

Median Property Price: $266,214
Price Per Sq/Ft: $114.37
Airbnb Rental Income: $2,380
Occupancy Rate: 55.3%
Cash on Cash Return: 3.02%

Want to find the best rental properties in these or other neighborhoods in the city? Sign up with Mashvisor and start analyzing and comparing San Antonio investment properties with our investment tools!

Related: Buying an Investment Property? These Are the Best Tools to Use

The Bottom Line

For many reasons, owning San Antonio investment properties is a profitable and smart decision. Thus, if you’re a real estate investor searching for the best cities for real estate investing, you can put San Antonio on the list. You can count on us to find, analyze, and compare the best investment properties in San Antonio to start making money in no time. Just click here to start your 14-day free trial with Mashvisor and subscribe to our services with a 20% discount after!

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