San Antonio has become the only major Texas metro area to show growth in new home construction over the past year, according to data from consulting firm Zonda Advisory. The San Antonio metropolitan area saw 18,200 single-family housing starts in the last 12 months, a 1 percent increase compared to the previous year. This contrasts with Austin, where housing starts dropped nearly 15 percent in 2025 to 14,620. Austin’s numbers also represent a significant decline of about 40 percent from its 2022 levels.
Combined, San Antonio and Austin accounted for roughly 32,800 housing starts, making their region the third-largest homebuilding market nationally after Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston.
Bryan Glasshagel of Zonda Advisory highlighted San Antonio’s relative strength: “Should Austin continue to pull back, San Antonio is going to be the volume leader in the state,” he said. He noted that San Antonio now ranks sixth among U.S. markets for new home construction and remains one of few large metros still expanding.
Much of San Antonio’s growth has occurred outside city limits and beyond Loop 1604, especially in suburban areas such as Converse, Elmendorf, Castroville and Adkins. Most new development is happening in southern and eastern suburbs.
The San Antonio Board of Realtors reported that October home sales declined by 11 percent to 2,639 properties. However, the median price remained steady at $305,000 and inventory stood at just over six months—levels local brokers describe as balanced.
“While sales have slowed, steady pricing and strong inventory levels give both buyers and sellers more flexibility,” said Sabor Chairman Ed Zapata.
This situation reverses trends seen in 2022 when Austin had much higher building activity than San Antonio.
