What makes buying in Schertz different?
Schertz city limits sit inside three counties — Guadalupe, Bexar, and Comal — and each carries its own tax rate. On a $325,000 home that is roughly a $112 monthly difference between the Guadalupe and Bexar portions of the same city. Add a Randolph-driven housing market where BAH compresses across ranks, and how your loan is structured matters more here than in most Texas suburbs.
Key Takeaways
- Schertz spans three counties. The Guadalupe portion runs about 1.92% all in; the Bexar portion about 2.33% — roughly $112 a month apart on a $325,000 home.
- The Census Building Permits Survey recorded 438 single-family permits in 2025, down about 23% from 566 in 2024 — in line with the metro.
- Schertz is the largest city in the Randolph Metrocom, and Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD serves most of it.
- San Antonio posted the metro’s strongest June sales growth at 16.3% year over year while inventory rose — unusual, and favorable to a prepared buyer.
- Texas prohibits VA and FHA cash-out on a homestead under Section 50(a)(6). Veterans wanting equity get routed to a conventional structure.
What Does the Schertz Market Look Like Right Now?
Schertz is the third-largest city in the San Antonio–New Braunfels metro and the largest in the Randolph Metrocom, the ring of communities around Randolph Air Force Base. Interstate 35 runs through the north end of the city, putting downtown San Antonio roughly 19 miles away and New Braunfels about six miles from the city limits.
On new construction, the U.S. Census Building Permits Survey recorded 438 single-family permits in Schertz in 2025, down from 566 in 2024. That is a decline of about 23 percent, closely tracking the San Antonio metro overall, which fell from roughly 5,000 to 3,888 permits over the same period. Building has slowed here, but it has not stopped.
The broader market backdrop favors buyers. The Texas Real Estate Research Center reported that San Antonio posted the strongest June 2026 sales growth of any major Texas metro at 16.3 percent year over year, while inventory and months’ supply both rose. Prices were still easing, with annual declines approaching 2 percent, and roughly 65 percent of 2025 San Antonio closings landed at least 3 percent below the seller’s initial asking price.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, place-level annual data for 2024 and 2025. Texas Real Estate Research Center, Texas Housing Insight (August 2026) and Housing | Summer 2026.
Why Does Schertz Have Three Different Property Tax Rates?
This is the single most important thing to understand about buying in Schertz, and most buyers never hear it until closing.
Schertz city limits sit inside three counties: Guadalupe, Bexar, and Comal. The city publishes this on its own tax rate page, noting that each area has its own taxing levy and the total rate depends on where the property sits. Most of the city, including City Hall, is in Guadalupe County. Parts extend south into Bexar and north into Comal. Cibolo Creek forms much of the Guadalupe-Bexar boundary.
Because Bexar County carries three countywide levies that Guadalupe does not — Alamo Colleges, University Health System, and the San Antonio River Authority — the same house on the same street can carry a materially different tax bill depending on which side of a line it sits.
| Portion of Schertz | County + city + ISD + districts | Rate | Tax per month on $325,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guadalupe County (SCUC ISD) | Guadalupe, City of Schertz, SCUC ISD | 1.92% | $520 |
| Bexar County (SCUC ISD) | Bexar, City of Schertz, SCUC ISD, Alamo Colleges, University Health, River Authority | 2.33% | $632 |
Source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, 2025 Tax Rates and Levies. Composite rates sum county, city, school district, and applicable countywide districts. Excludes MUD and PID assessments and assumes no exemptions applied.
That is roughly $112 a month on an identical purchase price, or about $1,343 a year. Over a seven-year hold it is more than $9,000. Nothing about the house changed — only the county.
Two things to do about it. First, ask which county a property sits in before you get emotionally attached; your title commitment will confirm it. Second, file your homestead exemption after closing. It is not automatic, it reduces the school district portion meaningfully, and Texas disabled veterans may qualify for an additional exemption that reaches a full exemption at a 100 percent disability rating.
What Should Military Buyers Know About Schertz?
Schertz exists in its current form largely because of Randolph. Joint Base San Antonio supports 74,713 direct employees according to the Texas Comptroller’s 2025 analysis, and Randolph is the piece of it that anchors this corridor as headquarters of Air Education and Training Command and the Air Force Personnel Center.
Three things follow that matter to your loan:
BAH compression shapes the competition
Housing allowance rises steeply from junior to mid-enlisted grades and then flattens. The practical effect in Schertz is that a wide band of ranks — and many officers — end up shopping the same price tier. When several buyers can afford the same house, the offer that wins is usually the one structured best, not the one that bids highest. Confirm your own rate through the DTMO lookup rather than a third-party table; the figures circulating for San Antonio in 2026 disagree with one another.
PCS timing does not wait for underwriting
Report dates arrive whether or not your file is clean. Start the conversation before orders finalize so entitlement, Certificate of Eligibility, and any existing VA loan on a prior duty station are already resolved. If you still owe on a home elsewhere, you may have partial entitlement rather than none, and that calculation changes what you can buy here.
Texas blocks VA cash-out on a homestead
Section 50(a)(6) of the Texas Constitution does not permit VA or FHA cash-out refinancing against a Texas homestead. Equity is still reachable through a conventional cash-out or a Texas home equity loan. Rate-and-term refinancing and the VA IRRRL streamline are unaffected.
Which Loan Programs Fit Schertz Buyers?
| Program | Down payment | Why it comes up here |
|---|---|---|
| VA | $0 with full entitlement | The default for Randolph families. No monthly mortgage insurance. |
| Conventional | As little as 3% | Civilian buyers, and the only cash-out route on a Texas homestead. |
| FHA | 3.5% with qualifying credit | Buyers rebuilding credit, and older sections of the city. |
| Construction | Varies by structure | Build-on-your-lot north toward Comal County. Texas allows 4–5 draws. |
| First-time buyer | Varies | Program and assistance options for a first purchase. |
Rates are not published here because they change daily and vary by lender and by file. That is the argument for shopping several of them rather than accepting the first offer. You can model any scenario in the mortgage calculator.
What Should You Know Before You Make an Offer in Schertz?
- Confirm the county. It is a six-figure decision expressed as a $112 monthly difference. Ask early.
- Ask about MUD or PID assessments. Newer subdivisions in this corridor sometimes sit inside a special district that adds an assessment on top of regular taxes, occasionally enough to erase the Guadalupe County advantage.
- Verify the school attendance zone, not just the district. SCUC ISD covers most of Schertz, but the Comal County portion is served by Comal ISD.
- Ask for a seller concession, not only a price cut. With San Antonio sellers already conceding heavily, that money usually does more as a rate buydown. See how Texas seller concessions and rate buydowns work.
- Get the loan structured before the offer goes in, not three days before closing. Buydowns and VA concessions both have to be disclosed and documented.
Common Questions
+ Which county am I actually buying in when I buy in Schertz?
It depends on the street. Schertz city limits sit inside Guadalupe, Bexar, and Comal counties, and the city says so on its own tax page. Most of the city including City Hall is in Guadalupe County, with parts extending south into Bexar and north into Comal. Cibolo Creek forms much of the Guadalupe-Bexar line. Your title commitment will name the county, but it is worth knowing before you write an offer, not after.
+ How much difference does the county line actually make?
On a $325,000 home, roughly $112 a month. Using 2025 adopted rates from the Texas Comptroller, the Guadalupe County portion of Schertz runs about 1.92 percent all in, while the Bexar County portion runs about 2.33 percent, because Bexar adds countywide college, hospital district, and river authority levies. Same city, same school district, different tax bill.
+ Is Schertz a good place to buy if I am stationed at Randolph?
It is the largest city in the Randolph Metrocom and the commute is short. The practical caution is that BAH compresses sharply above the mid-enlisted grades, so a wide range of ranks compete for the same tier of housing here. That makes how your offer is structured matter more than what you are willing to pay.
+ What school district serves Schertz?
Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD covers most of the city, and it also serves Cibolo and parts of Universal City. A small northern portion of Schertz falls into Comal County and is served by Comal ISD instead. Since the school district is usually the largest single line on your tax bill, confirm which one covers a specific address.
+ Is new construction still being built in Schertz?
Yes, though at a slower pace. The Census Building Permits Survey recorded 438 single-family permits in Schertz in 2025, down from 566 in 2024 — a decline of about 23 percent, roughly in line with the metro as a whole. There is still meaningful new supply, but less of it than two years ago.
+ Can I use a VA loan and a seller concession at the same time here?
Yes. VA allows a seller to contribute up to 4 percent of value in concessions — which can cover the funding fee, prepaid taxes and insurance, or temporary buydown funds — and separately permits the seller to pay customary closing costs. In a market where sellers are already conceding, that combination is often worth more than negotiating the price down.
About the Author
Adam Bartling is a licensed Texas mortgage broker and loan officer, and a retired U.S. Army Captain. He works exclusively in Texas and exclusively as a broker — multiple wholesale lenders compete for each file rather than one bank dictating the terms.
Having served, he understands PCS timelines and entitlement questions firsthand. Clients get a dedicated processor, no upfront credit pull, and an annual loan review for as long as they own the home. More about Adam.
Schertz is part of our Greater San Antonio mortgage guide. Nearby communities: Cibolo · New Braunfels · Seguin
