San Antonio, TX Home Loans

Fort Sam Houston is the Army’s home in the city. Its fact sheet lists U.S. Army North, U.S. Army South, Brooke Army Medical Center, the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence and the Medical Education and Training Campus. Brooke is the only Level I trauma center in the Military Health System, according to a December 2022 report. Camp Bullis, a training reservation of more than 27,000 acres northwest of the city, belongs to the same base.

Lackland is where enlisted Airmen and Guardians begin: the 737th Training Group trains more than 36,000 recruits a year, for 7.5 weeks each, so the buyers this page is for are the permanent party and their families. Randolph is home to Air Education and Training Command’s headquarters and the Air Force Personnel Center, and the 12th Flying Training Wing flies T-38 and T-6 aircraft there.

Debbie Haberny is a Vetted VA Professional, which suits a base where one set of PCS orders can name Fort Sam Houston, Lackland or Randolph: we can start your Certificate of Eligibility before you know which gate you will drive to. Guard and Reserve members may qualify after six creditable years of service, among other paths. The tables below show which location is closest from each area.

San Antonio

San Antonio is the middle of the market: without traffic it is about 10 minutes from the BAMC/I-35 gate at Fort Sam Houston, 19 from Lackland’s Valley Hi Gate and 27 from Randolph’s Lindsey Gate. The Census Bureau estimates 1,548,422 residents for July 2025, up 8.0 percent from its 2020 estimates base. In the 2020-2024 estimates, owner-occupied homes had a median value of $235,700, homeowners occupied 52.2 percent of homes and 90,474 residents were veterans. The Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans’ Hospital is at 7400 Merton Minter Boulevard.

Cibolo

Cibolo is estimated at 39,019 residents for July 2025, up 20.9 percent from its 2020 estimates base. Its 2020-2024 estimates show a $351,900 median value for owner-occupied homes, a $2,112 median gross rent, an 82.3 percent owner-occupied share and 5,654 veterans. The city’s site places it in Guadalupe County. Without traffic it is about 8 minutes to Randolph’s Lindsey Gate, 25 to Fort Sam Houston and 47 to Lackland, past the commute radius.

Converse

Converse is estimated at 32,481 residents for July 2025, up 17.2 percent from its 2020 estimates base. In the 2020-2024 estimates its owner-occupied homes had a $248,400 median value, with a $1,693 median gross rent, a 74.2 percent owner-occupied share and 3,352 veterans. City Hall is at 406 S. Seguin. Without traffic it is about 5 minutes to Randolph’s Lindsey Gate and 15 to Fort Sam Houston.

Live Oak

Live Oak is estimated at 16,426 residents for July 2025, up 4.1 percent from its 2020 estimates base. The 2020-2024 estimates list a $246,300 median value for owner-occupied homes, a $1,634 median gross rent, a 57.9 percent owner-occupied share and 1,456 veterans. City Hall is at 8001 Shin Oak Drive. Without traffic it is about 7 minutes to Randolph’s Lindsey Gate and 14 to Fort Sam Houston.

Alamo Ranch

Alamo Ranch is a San Antonio neighborhood in ZIP code 78253, west of Lackland. For the 78253 ZIP code area, which covers more than the neighborhood, the 2020-2024 estimates show a $360,000 median value for owner-occupied homes, a 77.0 percent owner-occupied share and 8,350 veterans. Without traffic it is about 16 minutes to Lackland’s Valley Hi Gate, 32 to Fort Sam Houston and 44 to Randolph, and about 8 minutes to the North West San Antonio VA Clinic on State Highway 151.

A Census median is a snapshot, not a price quote. The 2020-2024 estimates put the middle owner-occupied home at $235,700 in the city of San Antonio, $262,200 in Bexar County, $269,600 in Universal City, $317,100 in Schertz and $339,400 in New Braunfels, and homeowners occupy 52.2 percent of San Antonio’s homes against 78.4 percent in Schertz.

Growth is uneven: New Braunfels is estimated at 122,492 people for July 2025, up 35.5 percent from its 2020 estimates base, while Universal City is up 3.5 percent. New neighborhoods often sit in special districts. A seller inside a municipal utility district must deliver written notice to the buyer ahead of the contract, and a seller inside a public improvement district must disclose that the buyer owes assessments, paid in annual installments that vary. Before you fall for a floor plan, find out what the district costs each month.

Schools. Each base has its own school district. Fort Sam Houston ISD, created in 1951, sits entirely on the post; Lackland ISD runs Lackland Elementary and Stacy Jr/Sr High School; and Randolph Field ISD reports 1,440 students. Off base, Universal City is served by Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD and Judson ISD, and New Braunfels has Comal ISD and New Braunfels ISD. A Texas Purple Star campus names a military liaison, keeps a webpage for military families and runs a transition program, and TEA’s 2026-27 list names 60 Northside ISD campuses, 13 Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD campuses and 6 Judson ISD campuses. Check any address with the district before you write an offer.

Gates. At Fort Sam Houston the BAMC/I-35, Walters and Harry Wurzbach East gates are open around the clock. Lackland’s Valley Hi Gate and Randolph’s Lindsey (Main) Gate are too, though Randolph’s visitor center keeps weekday hours from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.. Randolph’s East, West and South gates open on weekdays only and close on federal holidays.

Drive Times. Typical drive without traffic, measured October 7, 2026 (OpenStreetMap routing): Universal City, Converse and Live Oak are 5 to 7 minutes from Randolph’s Lindsey Gate and 14 to 16 from Fort Sam Houston’s BAMC gate, Alamo Ranch is 16 minutes from Lackland’s Valley Hi Gate, and New Braunfels is 26 minutes from Randolph and 53 from Lackland, past the 45-minute radius.

Roadwork. TxDOT’s I-35 Northeast Expansion is a $3.5 billion program of about 20 miles from North Walters Street in San Antonio to FM 1103 in Schertz. Four of its five segments are under construction, with estimated completion from 2027 to 2030, and the northern segment, from FM 1103 to FM 3009, is under design with a 2032 estimate. In north Bexar County, the $1.4 billion Loop 1604 North Expansion covers 23 miles from SH 16 (Bandera Road) to I-35.

Your Basic Allowance for Housing follows from your rank, dependents and duty station; the DoD lookup is public, so no allowance figures appear on this page. Bring yours to us and we will line it up against what each part of the market costs.

A Texas property tax bill stacks several taxing units. In Bexar County the appraisal district sets values, and every property is taxed by the county, flood control, the community college, University Health, the San Antonio River Authority and one school district, plus any city or special district; bills are due January 31 of the following year. For school district taxes, every homestead gets $140,000 off its appraised value, and owners who are 65 or older or disabled get $60,000 more. A disabled veteran can claim $5,000 to $12,000 off assessed value, depending on the disability rating, and a veteran rated 100 percent disabled or unemployable can claim the entire residence homestead. File Form 50-135 with the appraisal district, with VA documentation of your latest rating, generally before May 1.

County Loan Limits. Full entitlement carries no VA cap on the loan amount, provided you can afford the payment and the appraisal supports the price; we still have to approve the amount. County limits come into play only with partial entitlement. FHFA’s 2026 one-unit limit is the same $832,750 in all three counties on this page: Bexar, Comal and Guadalupe.

Flood. The San Antonio River Authority describes the region as Flash Flood Alley. Its updated floodplain maps cover Bexar, Wilson, Karnes and Goliad counties, and its Draft Floodplain Viewer lets you search an address. FEMA states that most homeowners policies leave flood damage out, so a house in a high-risk flood area that a federally backed home loan pays for needs a separate flood policy. The Authority adds that nearly one flood insurance claim in four comes from areas with minimal flood risk. For an address outside Bexar County, such as New Braunfels or Cibolo, start with FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center. Pull the flood zone and a coverage quote ahead of any offer; your real estate agent can help.

Special Districts and HOAs. Before you sign for a home inside a municipal utility district or a public improvement district, or one governed by an HOA, get the notice, the assessment amount and the dues in writing.

Visit the housing office at your assigned location before you sign a lease or a purchase contract; JBSA asks every service member to do this for counseling. If you plan to buy, ask us for a pre-approval and a Certificate of Eligibility before a house-hunting trip.

Plan for gate rules when you bring an agent or a relative along. JBSA says it has suspended its Trusted Traveler program and runs 100 percent ID checks at all gates, so expect delays; anyone without a military or DBIDS credential must report to a Visitor Control Center, and the base runs a criminal background check on everyone who requests access.

Spouses and children have their own steps. JBSA’s Welcome to the Family course meets by video on Mondays. Under Texas law, a licensing agency issues a license to a military spouse holding a comparable license in good standing from another state, and issues a provisional license while the application is processed. Texas has also enacted the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.

Family housing is privatized at all three locations, and each has its own housing office. At Fort Sam Houston, Hunt Military Communities manages 925 homes, and the Housing Referral Services Office is at 3171 Zinn Road. At Lackland, Balfour Beatty Communities runs a gated community of two- to five-bedroom homes, with select homes also open to retirees, civilian employees and the public.

Randolph’s rules matter most. Hunt Military Communities manages more than 300 homes there. The Air Force’s housing page says people assigned to Randolph get priority, while people assigned to Fort Sam Houston or Lackland are housed only after that list is exhausted, on one-year leases, and that waiting times vary by season, rank and bedroom entitlement. Unaccompanied housing has its own office at each location. If no on-base home is open when you need one, we can walk you through a VA purchase off base, and your agent can add school-zone and neighborhood detail.