Here is a prediction; Buying a home near the BSR wave pool in Waco, Texas is a great investment if you are doing a VRBO and marketing to surfers. Believe it or not, surfers from all over the planet are traveling to Waco Texas because of this amazing wave pool attraction. Surfers of all levels are raving about this wave pool and the city of Waco will reap the benefits for many years to come.
If you are thinking about buying a home in Texas, this is generally a wise idea. Home prices in Texas are usually below the national average but the economy here is strong and the population is rising, so you can bet you will see home appreciation in 2018 and beyond.
One of the more underrated but rising markets in Texas to buy a home is Waco. Waco currently has a population of 134,000 and has a total of 47,100 houses and apartments with a median home value of $117,000.
In the last decade, Waco has seen some of the highest home appreciation rates of any city in the nation. It is estimated that Waco real estate appreciated 34% over the past decade, which is an average of 3% per year. This puts Waco in the top 10% across the country, but the homes are very inexpensive here as well. If you are a first-time buyer, Waco has shown over the years to be one of the best real estate investments in the country in the last decade.
The Waco wave pool Utilizes the PerfectSwell® technology, our resort’s 2-acre surf lake ensures that you enjoy impeccable surfing conditions. Whether you seek a delightful day at the water park or aim to enhance your surfing skills, our unique facility provides experiences suitable for the entire family!
How Good Is the BSR Waco Wave Pool?
Waco home appreciation has continued to be quite strong even though we had a serious downturn in housing starting in 2007. Waco real estate is still appreciating, and in 2023, it is rising faster as is most of the country. Last year, appreciation across the country averaged 6%. In Waco, appreciation was about 7.7%, making it higher than 75% of the cities in the country, and again, home prices here are relatively low, so you can really get a bang for your buck in Waco. Based upon the last year, short term real estate investors and flippers have also done will in Waco. Appreciation rates in the town for the last quarter were .3%, which is an annual appreciation rate of 1.21%.
Relative to the entire state of Texas, data shows the annual appreciation rate in Waco is higher than 70% of the cities in Texas.
Most people in Waco live in small single-family homes with one or two bedrooms. There is a solid mix of owner occupied and renter occupied homes.
Keep in mind that a lot of the housing stock in Waco is older. Much of the housing stock was built from 1970 to the mid-1990s, so, many part of the town have a sort of Brady Bunch look to their homes that were so popular in the 70s to 80s. But many homes with this look were built in the early 90s too. There also is a lot of housing stock in town that was built from 1940 to 1969, about 35%. A lesser amount of homes was built from 2000 and later, about 17%.
One of the issues in Waco is vacant housing. Experts say 11.51% of houses in this town are vacant. When homes are left vacant, it can hold back the real estate market. This is part of why real estate prices in Waco are lower than in other parts of Texas. If those homes were bought by investors and fixed up and then occupied, the housing market in town would rise.
Other parts of north and central Texas are also seeing rises in home prices and appreciation. In Dallas, the median price of homes sold in April 2018 was $260,000, which is 8% higher than last year. Median home prices in north Texas overall are 90% higher than they were in 2009. Through Q1 of 2018, real estate prices have gone up another 6% from the same time in 2017. While the prices are still going up, Dallas home values are not rising at the same 13% increase year over year as last year. Experts are not that surprised. They say that Dallas in particular is overvalued, and it makes sense for home prices to level off.
Do you Have Surfboards You Can Rent?
Yes, we have an ever growing and updating performance, soft-top and body board inventory!
Please email info@wacosurf.com for our latest board stock.
Do You Need a Reservation to Surf?
Yes, you’re going to need a reservation. Waco surf sessions are usually booked about 2 months in advance, so showing up and hoping for the best is not something we recommend.
Staying at the Waco Surf Hotel
When you book a room at the Waco Surf Hotel, you get exclusive access to book our Public Surf Sessions before we release them to the general public
You have the option to reserve your slot in any of our open public sessions*: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, or Pro sessions. The maximum number of Stay and Surf participants in any public session is limited to 4 guests.
Please note that Stay & Surf is exclusively offered to Waco Surf Hotel guests. You must confirm bookings must be fully paid within 24 hours; otherwise, the reservation will be released. It’s important to be aware that charges for Waco Surf Hotel and Public Surf Sessions are separate.
Takeaway on VRBO’s and Surfing Waco
The bottom line is that Waco is one part of Texas that has solid appreciating home values and the prices are still very reasonable. The BSR wave pool is absolutely amazing. It is close enough to major cities such as Dallas so that some people decide to make Waco home and commute at least part of the time. As the rest of north and central Texas is seeing solid growth too, now is a good time to buy a home in Waco.
About RefiGuide
Bryan Dornan is a financial journalist and currently serves as Chief Editor of RefiGuide.org. Bryan has founded several mortgage and marketing companies and has worked as a loan officer and mortgage broker in the industry for over 25 years and has a wealth of experience in providing mortgage clients with the highest level of service in the industry. Bryan's continual focus is to promote affordable home-ownership to consumers like you across the United States. He also writes for RealtyTimes, Patch, Buzzfeed, Medium and other national publications. Find him on Twitter, Muckrack, and Linkedin
More articles by RefiGuide