La Vernia, TX – Bubble Proof?
Just yesterday I drove out to La Vernia, TX where some clients of mine bought a house to check on the completion of construction as they are set to close soon. Leaving the hill country and driving out to Wilson county you start see a change in the “lay of the land”. The topography changes to slow rolling hills that are just starting to see the immersion of the spring wild flowers and driving down some of the roads it didn’t even feel like was in the San Antonio area.
As I drove to my client’s soon-to-be-home I couldn’t help but notice how many homes were being built, and how many homes had SOLD signs in front of them. Why would people be moving out of San Antonio and into La Vernia and Floresville? Price for one! My folks bought a 2600 square foot, totally custom home for under $300k. Now this is on an acre, it has wood floors, a spa-like master bathroom, side entry garage, is stone and stucco, had custom tile work in the entry and backsplash, has stone features inside, high ceilings, granite counter-tops, beautiful cabinets, and even the bathroom fixtures are upgraded. This home has it all. A comparable home in San Antonio on an acre would be nearly $100k more expensive!
I understand what you may be thinking, “Sounds like a great house, but I’m not going to live out in the sticks!” Well here’s the thing: If you move out to La Vernia or Floresville you have to want to live in a small town. No doubt about it. But I tell you what, I took my super city-slicker wife out with me yesterday because she takes better pictures than I do, and she even said she could see why people like it out there. Now you would have to drive to San Antonio to go to the mall, or Chilli’s or that sort of thing, but that is about a 30 minute drive. You know how long it takes me to get from Stone Oak to any mall in San Antonio? About 30 minutes depending on traffic. Besides there is a growing number of people who are tired of the hustle and bustle of San Antonio. They remember living in San Antonio when it was a small town – or at least felt like one! You can live in Floresville and stop in at the local burger place, and if you’ve been there more than three times there is a good chance the waitress will know your name. People like that!
Another reason people are moving to Floresville and La Vernia is because most of the homes out there are built by custom builders. Gembler Construction is the builder my folks bought from. They built the home 2 lots over from my client’s and you know what? The home has very distinct differences! It is a custom home! People are growing extremely tired of the “pack ‘em in”, “cookie cutter” homes in San Antonio. You go out to La Vernia and get an acre (or 65 acres as a friend of family did), you are not able to put your arm out your window and touch your neighbor, and you get a home that is built for you! You don’t stand out in your front yard and see 6 houses that are the same plan as yours because everyone in your neighborhood bought the floor plan that was the model home when the builder was still sell there. People like that they can go out and get a well built home that hasn’t been picked through and stripped of anything of value as the big production builders have done. The home my clients bought does NOT have Hollywood light bulbs in the bathrooms, does NOT have any light fixture that is made of plastic, does NOT have vinyl flooring, does NOT have cheap cabinets, does NOT have 6×6 white bathroom tile around the shower, does NOT have the same light fixtures in every room, does NOT have a front door without any appeal. They got a house that you walk through and think, “This builder did it right!” Isn’t that what we all want??
So it seems like La Vernia, TX is bubble proof. Why? Because it is a town of local companies putting out great homes. It is not a “care only about the shareholders” builder community. You get what you pay for in La Vernia, TX. You get a great home on a great lot where you can look back and say, “This is great place to live.”
If moving out to the country sounds like a good deal to you, give me a call. I still live in San Antonio and love it so if you need help with any real estate transaction in San Antonio I’d love to help!
Chris Cowley
210-389-6006
June 19, 2008 at 2:56 pm
That is a great article. We really appreciate you mentioning us in it.
Hope to be talking to you soon.
Lawrence and Donna Gembler,
Gembler Custom Homes, Gembler Construction, LP