The holidays in San Antonio are an exciting and pleasurable time. Whether you are interested in a night of family fun or a lively parade that’ll knock your socks off, San Antonio has it all when it comes to holiday magic and excitement.

Best of all, most of the events enjoyed during the holiday season in San Antonio are free of charge, thereby enabling residents and visitors of every walk of life to relish in the exciting, holiday atmosphere.

So, the only question that remains is: how can you find the time to experience all of the fun that the San Antonio holidays have in store for you?

• Light the Way at the University of Incarnate Word

November 22, 2009 through January 6, 2010

The University of Incarnate Word’s annual illumination experience has been enjoyed for nearly two decades. Visitors can experience a million twinkling lights by either driving or walking. This event is free to the public.

• Ford Holiday River Parade and Lighting Ceremony

November 27, 2009 through January 1, 2010

Nearly 122,000 lights illuminate the River Walk, along with decorated floats along the river. Stay to enjoy the nighttime river parade!

• Ford Fiesta de Las Luminarias

The San Antonio River bank provides the perfect backdrop to nearly 2,500 luminary candles. This annual holiday tradition marks the “lighting of the way” for the Holy family. This centuries-old tradition begins at dusk on Friday, Saturday and Sundays only.

• Celebrate San Antonio

December 31, 2009

Spectacular fireworks, live music, food and family activities are all enjoyed in San Antonio on New Year’s Eve! Admission is free to the event, which is located on South Alamo Street, between Durango and Market Streets. Celebrate San Antonio, which attracts more than 250,000 people to the downtown area, has been ranked as one of the top 50 New Year’s Eve destinations around the world. In fact, there is no other free event of this size for New Year’s Eve that is larger than Celebrate San Antonio in the state of Texas. Festivities continue through 12:30AM.

Many think of only the homeowners when they hear of the record number of foreclosures across the country. However, it is often the renters that pay in this brutal real estate market.

Many renters, for example, have been evicted from their homes because the owners of the homes in which they are living are foreclosed upon. Many times, it is the renters that receive a notice of eviction, not from their landlord, but from the lender that foreclosed on the home. And, unfortunately, many of these renters find themselves without homes and without their security deposits.

In addition, because of the high foreclosure rates, many cities, including San Antonio, have seen rent prices increasing sharply and vacancy rates dropping. Across the country, vacancy rates are down from the last year and rent has increased 5.3 percent, up from an increase of 3.1 percent in 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Some cities have even seen rent prices increasing into the double digits. San Francisco, for example, saw the median rent price rise 14.6 percent to nearly $1,810 a month in the first quarter of 2009. Washington, D.C. rent prices rose five percent and Seattle rent prices rose nearly 11 percent during this time.

The National Multi-Housing Council also reported that the number of renters in professionally managed apartments leapt to their highest levels in 2007. In fact, the increase in 2007 was as large as the increase for the previous five years, combined.

Because of this sharp increase in the number of renters, it only makes sense that the San Antonio rental market is very strong – and very competitive.

Why the Demand for Rentals Remains Strong:

• Renters are waiting for home prices to hit rock bottom. Amazingly, many renters still don’t think the real estate market has hit rock bottom, and they are still waiting for prices to drop even further. Renters are therefore keeping a close eye on the market in hopes of snagging the best deal.
• Many renters simply can’t afford to purchase a new home. This is because the rough economy has slashed many individuals’ incomes, and has left many people either unemployed or under-employed.
• Credit is still hard to obtain. Only individuals with the best credit are getting mortgages right now, which leave many individuals with no other choice than to rent.
• Foreclosures are still on the rise. Individuals who have been foreclosed on their homes simply have no other choice than to rent because of their precarious financial situation and their poor credit.

The Bexar County Appraisal District is taking the national economy mess into its own hands by lowering or freezing property appraisals in Bexar County.

Although San Antonio certainly hasn’t been hit has hard as other areas of the country when it comes to the housing market decline and the credit crisis, there are signs that Bexar County is struggling, and will continue to do so in the upcoming year.

The Bexar County Appraisal District certainly considered this sobering statistic when they decided to drop the average residential property appraisal value by two percent, compared to 2008.

There certainly is a lot to be said for the drop in property appraisal values, as the last time Bexar County saw a decrease in property appraisals was during the savings and loan crisis in the early 1990s.

Although this news is good for homeowners, it may not be great news for the local economy, which may be starting to feel the impact of the poor national economy.

There are certain neighborhoods in Bexar County, particularly those in the 12 zip codes that will see appraisal increases in 2009, yet the majority of neighborhoods, including the 63 zip codes, will see appraisal decreases.  In fact, some areas may see a decrease of as much as 20 percent, including the 78204 zip code.

The drop in appraisal values is set to help out the many communities of Bexar County which has seen median home prices fall significantly. The average value of a home in Bexar County is currently $141,950, compared to $144,687 in 2008, a decrease of two percent.

In addition, there are no current plans to raise property taxes.

Commercial property appraisals have not seen a decrease like residential properties, as there was close to $4 billion in new construction in Bexar County in 2008.