Page 8 - Builder Brief October 2022

2022 PRESIDENT
SAN ANTONIO IS
“ON THE MOVE”
Did you know that San Antonio's housing market welcomed thousands of new residents when the pandemic struck? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, San Antonio had the largest number of new residents nationally in 2021, with 13,626 households relocating to our community over the previous year. These new residents were higher income earners too.
The Business Journal recently analyzed U.S. migration and reviewed IRS data. They found that Texas is drawing a large number of relatively higher-earning tax filers from other states but also from within Texas. People relocating from Travis County (Austin) to Bexar County topped the list, followed by Fairfax County, Virginia. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reported that our city's median family income is $83,500. This income level is a 13 percent spike over last year's median income of $74,100. Texas was up 11 percent to a median family income of $83,500 according to HUD.
The increased buying activity has driven home prices up an average of 39 percent across our community over the last two years. While the pricing pressure and higher interest rates have slowed home sales, San Antonio is not seeing prices come down like Austin and other cities across the United States.
Existing home sales fell for the seventh straight month in August in the United States, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). San Antonio is weathering the market better than other cities across our nation. In fact, city leaders have shared that San Antonio needs 65,000 more homes to have a balanced and healthy housing market.
The Texas A&M Research Center recently says that the family- earnings jump, coupled with San Antonio's surging population, is extreme compared to other parts of the country. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, annual salaries in most of San Antonio's employment sectors went up in 2021, except for management professions. This is good news for the homebuilding industry.
The Fed continues to aggressively hike interest rates to combat inflation, and mortgage applications are declining. The good news shared by Dayton Schrader at our GSABA September Board meeting is that in San Antonio, Texas, the average days for homes on the market is a mere 39 days.
The challenging news shared by Dayton is that the average price of a home in San Antonio rose to $380,779 compared to $331,825 in 2021 and $284,639 in 2020. These price increases are impacting housing affordability across our 22-county jurisdiction.
While the market has cooled a bit, San Antonio is weathering the modest downturn better than other major cities. There is a lot
MIKE SOWRY
of good news we can share with prospective homebuyers, and I urge you not to buy into the "sky is falling" hype. On Tuesday, September 27th, a recent National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) report showed that new-home construction unexpectedly rose in August.
Thank you for your membership. Please look at the October and November calendar on page 6; many excellent education and events are coming up! I look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events!
Sincerely,
8 OCTOBER 2022 | GREATER SAN ANTONIO BUILDERS ASSOCIATION