What makes buying in Seguin different?
Seguin issued 801 single-family permits in 2025 against a population near 30,165 — about 27 per 1,000 residents, the highest per-capita building rate in the San Antonio metro. The result is a market where 1940s houses and 2026 production homes compete at similar prices, which makes matching the loan program to the property more important here than anywhere else in the metro.
Key Takeaways
- Seguin builds at about 26.6 single-family permits per 1,000 residents — more than double New Braunfels and over ten times San Antonio proper.
- Composite property tax runs about 1.93%, roughly $522 a month on a $325,000 home — well under any comparable Bexar County address.
- Permits fell about 20% from 2024, a shallower decline than New Braunfels (31%) or Schertz (23%).
- The housing stock is genuinely mixed. On older homes, FHA property standards can decide whether a deal closes — know before you write the offer.
- Seguin is the most affordable entry point in the metro that still keeps a Randolph commute workable.
What Does the Seguin Market Look Like Right Now?
Seguin is the quietest surprise in the San Antonio metro. It is the Guadalupe County seat, it sits east on I-10 past the Randolph corridor, and it has a reputation as the affordable option. What that reputation misses is how fast it is actually building.
The Census Building Permits Survey recorded 801 single-family permits in Seguin in 2025. Set that against a city population of roughly 30,165 and it works out to about 27 permits per 1,000 residents — the highest rate of any city in the metro, by a wide margin.
| City | 2025 population | 2025 single-family permits | Permits per 1,000 residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seguin | 30,165 | 801 | 26.6 |
| Boerne | 19,066 | 351 | 18.4 |
| Schertz | 39,135 | 438 | 11.2 |
| New Braunfels | 79,459 | 879 | 11.1 |
| Cibolo | 33,465 | 287 | 8.6 |
| San Antonio | 1,567,087 | 3,888 | 2.5 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, place-level annual data for 2025, including the survey’s reported population figures. Cibolo permit figures are imputed rather than directly reported.
Seguin is building at roughly two and a half times the per-resident pace of New Braunfels and more than ten times that of San Antonio proper. Permits did fall year over year — from 998 in 2024, a decline of about 20 percent — but that is a shallower drop than New Braunfels at 31 percent or Schertz at 23 percent.
What that tells a buyer. The inventory here is genuinely mixed. You are shopping a market where a 1940s house on a large lot and a 2026 production home can sit within a few blocks of each other, at prices that are not far apart. Which one you buy changes which loan program fits — and sometimes which program will close at all.
What Do Property Taxes Cost in Seguin?
Guadalupe County does not levy the countywide college, hospital district, and river authority taxes that Bexar County charges. That is the entire reason the Guadalupe cities run cheaper on the tax line than comparable Bexar addresses.
| Community | County / ISD | Composite rate | Tax per month on $325,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Braunfels | Comal / New Braunfels ISD | 1.75% | $474 |
| Schertz (Guadalupe portion) | Guadalupe / SCUC ISD | 1.92% | $520 |
| Seguin | Guadalupe / Seguin ISD | 1.93% | $522 |
| Converse | Bexar / Judson ISD | 2.19% | $593 |
| San Antonio | Bexar / North East ISD | 2.27% | $614 |
| San Antonio | Bexar / San Antonio ISD | 2.44% | $661 |
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.
Combine the lower rate with a lower entry price and the payment difference between Seguin and an equivalent home inside Loop 410 gets substantial — which is exactly why the permit numbers look the way they do.
File your homestead exemption after closing. It is not automatic, it reduces the school district portion, and Texas disabled veterans may qualify for an additional exemption reaching a full exemption at a 100 percent disability rating.
Why Does the Housing Stock Matter More Here Than Elsewhere?
In Cibolo or a Comal County master-planned subdivision, almost everything was built in the last twenty years and appraisals lean on comparable new-build sales. Seguin does not work that way.
Here you have a genuine mix — historic homes near the county courthouse, mid-century neighborhoods, and new production subdivisions all in the same market. Three consequences follow:
Appraisals turn on condition, not subdivision comps
An appraiser valuing an older Seguin home is weighing its actual condition and updates against a thinner set of comparable sales. That introduces more variability than a buyer coming from a master-planned market expects.
FHA property standards can decide the deal
An FHA loan requires the property to meet minimum standards, and the appraiser evaluates for them. Deferred maintenance that a conventional appraisal would absorb — peeling paint on a pre-1978 home, a roof near end of life, non-working systems — can require repairs before closing. On an older Seguin house that is a real scheduling risk, and it is better to know which program a property can support before you write the offer.
Renovation and new-build are both live options
Because both ends of the inventory exist here, the right answer is genuinely open. Some buyers do better on a newer home with a builder incentive; others do better buying older and cheaper. That comparison is worth running with actual numbers rather than instinct.
Which Loan Programs Fit Seguin Buyers?
| Program | Down payment | Why it comes up here |
|---|---|---|
| FHA | 3.5% with qualifying credit | Fits the entry price point. Watch the property condition standard on older homes. |
| VA | $0 with full entitlement | Military families willing to commute east from Randolph. No monthly mortgage insurance. |
| Conventional | As little as 3% | More flexible on older-home condition than FHA, and the only Texas homestead cash-out route. |
| First-time buyer | Varies | Seguin is one of the more realistic first-purchase markets in the metro. |
| Construction | Varies by structure | Build-on-your-lot outside the platted subdivisions. Texas allows 4–5 draws. |
| DSCR / investor | Typically 20%+ | Rental purchases qualified on property cash flow rather than personal income. |
Rates are not posted here because they move daily and differ by lender and by file. Model a scenario in the mortgage calculator, then let several lenders compete on the real numbers.
What Should You Know Before You Make an Offer in Seguin?
- Match the program to the property, not the other way around. On an older home, know whether FHA can close on it before you write the offer.
- Budget for an inspection that finds things. Older stock means more findings, and more room to negotiate repairs or a credit.
- Ask for concessions structured as a buydown. San Antonio sellers are conceding around 5.6 percent off original list. Applied to a rate buydown that money moves your payment far more than an equivalent price cut — see how Texas seller concessions and rate buydowns work.
- Confirm whether a newer subdivision carries a MUD or PID assessment, which adds to the rates above.
- On an investment purchase, remember the 2 percent cap. Conventional financing limits seller contributions to 2 percent on an investment property, well below the 6 percent available on a primary residence.
Common Questions
+ Is Seguin actually growing, or is it just affordable?
Both, and the growth is easy to miss. Census figures record 801 single-family permits in Seguin in 2025 against a population of about 30,165 — roughly 27 permits per 1,000 residents. New Braunfels, with more than twice the population, ran about 11 per 1,000. On a per-resident basis Seguin is building faster than any other city in the San Antonio metro, San Antonio itself included.
+ What are property taxes in Seguin?
Using 2025 adopted rates from the Texas Comptroller, the composite for Guadalupe County plus the City of Seguin plus Seguin ISD is about 1.93 percent. On a $325,000 home that is roughly $522 a month. That is well below anything comparable on the Bexar County side, because Guadalupe does not levy the countywide college, hospital, and river authority taxes Bexar does.
+ How far is Seguin from Randolph Air Force Base?
Seguin sits east of the Randolph corridor on I-10, further out than Schertz or Cibolo but still a workable commute for many military families. It is generally the most affordable entry point in the metro that keeps a Randolph commute realistic.
+ Why does the older housing stock in Seguin matter for my loan?
Seguin mixes genuinely old homes with brand-new subdivisions, and appraisals on older properties turn on condition rather than on comparable new-build subdivisions. That matters most on FHA files, where the appraiser also evaluates the property against minimum property standards. Deferred maintenance that a conventional appraisal might absorb can require repairs before an FHA loan will close.
+ Is an FHA loan a good fit in Seguin?
Often, yes. FHA’s 3.5 percent down payment and more flexible credit standards fit the entry-level price point Seguin is known for. The caution is the property condition standard on older homes. If you are looking at both older and newer inventory, it is worth knowing before you write an offer which program each property can actually support.
+ Can I buy a rental property in Seguin?
Yes, and the permit activity suggests a real rental market forming. A DSCR loan qualifies the purchase on the property’s own cash flow rather than your personal income, which is often the cleaner route for an investment purchase. Note that seller concessions are capped at 2 percent on a conventional investment property, far below the 6 percent available on a primary residence.
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.
Seguin is part of our Greater San Antonio mortgage guide. Nearby communities: Cibolo · Schertz · New Braunfels
