This Week in San Antonio
River Warriors Log 120,000 Pounds of Litter Along San Antonio River
From May 2025 to May 2026, volunteers with the San Antonio River Authority's River Warriors program collected 120,000 pounds of litter from local waterways. Recent rain events across Bexar County accelerated trash runoff into the San Antonio River's Mission Reach, prompting organized cleanup efforts this past weekend. The River Authority notes the higher collection totals this year reflect increased rainfall rather than increased littering.
Volunteers Pack 7,400 Backpacks with School Supplies for Military Children
Thousands of San Antonio-area volunteers gathered this week to pack approximately 7,400 backpacks filled with donated school supplies for military children in the region and across the country. The effort reflects the deep civic infrastructure that surrounds San Antonio's substantial military community. With the school year approaching, the drive represents one of the larger back-to-school supply operations in the area this summer.
Mayor Ortiz Jones Seeks Alternative Funding Amid City Budget Deficit
San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones is actively pursuing alternative funding sources for city-supported groups as the city confronts a looming budget deficit. The search for outside funding signals pressure on discretionary city spending heading into the next budget cycle. How that deficit gets resolved will bear watching for anyone tracking municipal services and infrastructure investment across the metro.
Triple-Digit Heat Returns to South-Central Texas
A typical July pattern reasserted itself this week as triple-digit temperatures returned to the San Antonio area. The heat comes on the heels of recent rain events that, while welcome, also contributed to the trash runoff along local waterways. For anyone active outdoors — including the volunteers working cleanup efforts along the river — conditions this week demanded early morning starts.
Real Estate Market
San Antonio's housing market is softer than it was two years ago, and the data makes that straightforward to assess. The median sale price over the last three months sits at $260,000 — down 2.6% from the same period last year, according to Redfin. Homes.com puts the 12-month price decline closer to 5%, with roughly 26,767 homes sold over that span. Homes are averaging around 73 days on market and receiving about one offer on average. By most definitions, this is a buyer's market, and buyers who understand that have real negotiating room right now.
The rental side tells a similar story. While national rents have climbed 2.2% year over year, San Antonio rents have moved in the opposite direction — falling approximately 1.8%, per Zillow data. Apartment owners are competing for tenants with concessions ranging from six to ten weeks free rent in some cases. The underlying cause is straightforward: San Antonio and Texas broadly have continued adding housing supply, which keeps downward pressure on both sale prices and rents. For buyers who have been on the fence, that supply-driven softness is worth taking seriously.
For sellers, particularly in the luxury segment, the current environment rewards realistic pricing from the start. With 73-day average market times, overpriced listings are sitting — and price reductions after prolonged market exposure rarely recover the ground lost in initial buyer perception. San Antonio remains 32% below the national median home price, which continues to attract relocating buyers, particularly from Austin, where the median sale price is currently around $542,000. That inbound interest from higher-cost markets is one of the more stable demand factors operating beneath the surface of an otherwise cooling broader market.