While the overall real estate market has sputtered since the pandemic, San Antonio is on the move, at least according to one industry group.
San Antonio climbed more than a dozen spaces on a list of real estate markets to watch in 2024, making it into the top 10 for the first time since consulting group PWC began tracking data.
The forecasted ranking was published in PWC’s 45th edition of “Emerging Trends in Real Estate” and recently announced during a fall meeting of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) in Los Angeles.
San Antonio came in eighth for its overall real estate prospects on the 80 U.S. markets to watch in 2024, behind Boston but ahead of Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.
The only other Texas cities among the top 10 were Austin, ranked fifth, and Dallas-Fort Worth, which came in third.
Last year, San Antonio was ranked 21st on the markets to watch, while Austin was fourth and the Dallas metroplex, seventh. Nashville took the top spot both years.
“[The report] looks at where investors are looking to invest, in what market and in what segment,” said Corrina Green, senior associate vice president in real estate and property management at UTSA and district council chair of ULI-San Antonio.
One reason for San Antonio’s leap into the top 10 is its location in the Sun Belt states and a 50-year migratory pattern from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and West.
The report quotes a consultant who attributed that continuing trend to the relatively low cost of living, good quality of life and business-friendly environments in some Sun Belt states.
“For years, we have seen a shift in investors moving more money into the southern cities like Dallas and Austin,” Green said. “Now this year we see San Antonio make that list.”
“I think San Antonio has long been a slow and steady city when it comes to change and growth,” Green added. “I would say over the past several years, we have seen an uptick in bigger and bold moves.”
In addition to the markets to watch rankings, the PWC/ULI report features an outlook on the market and industry trends.
“Respondents to this year’s ‘Emerging Trends’ survey believe the worst of inflation is behind us, with over half expecting inflation to decline in 2024 and another third believing inflation will at least stabilize,” states the report. “That should give the Federal Reserve Bank permission to stop hiking interest rates.”
However, only three in 10 survey respondents said they expect commercial mortgage rates to drop in the coming year.
Two Weston Urban executives facilitated a group of real estate leaders to provide input to the report: Reeves Craig and Mark Jensen, both vice presidents of multifamily development at the San Antonio-based developer with holdings across downtown.
“We were excited to see San Antonio break into the top 10 markets for ULI for the first time,” Craig said. “From an urban development perspective, San Antonio is still in the early innings when you compare us to other markets like Austin and Dallas — there’s increasing opportunity here, and I think that is gaining more and more interest at a national level.”
That interest is driving population growth, as well. The only state with more than three cities on the 2022 Census Bureau list of fast-growing municipalities is Texas, and San Antonio had the third-largest numeric population gain.
On Tuesday, Robert L. Santos, the director of the U.S. Census Bureau, will explain the importance of census data to communities, and what it means for San Antonio, at CityFest, presented by the San Antonio Report.
Tickets and sponsorships are now available for Santos’ keynote address at the annual CityFest luncheon.
