Land Use

To search commercial properties, visit our search engine – New Braunfels Prospector

More than 40,000 people live within a 3-mile radius of New Braunfels and the largest population group is the 20-29 year olds; the population as a whole is expected to grown to approx 47,000 by the year 2013.

One of the biggest commodities to continue attracting and sustaining such growth to our economy is the availability of land and in particular, along one of the busiest highways in the US - IH35. In 2006, the Planning Commission and Planning Department of the City of New Braunfels completed the five-year update of the 1999 Comprehensive Plan with a focus on projections for future growth and updating the land use policies, goals, and objectives. Upon completion of the plan, the land use and future land use maps were updated in an effort to define and direct the city’s growth. Indicative of the city’s aggressive marketing to attract primary business is the percentage of land set aside for mixed use and commercial business.

In addition, Build NB conducts annually benchmarks to measure growth and data trends and offer insight on market activity in both presentation and narrative formats. This comprehensive study tracks demographic, commercial and socio-economic data that covers a wide range of data in both the residential and commercial sectors to fully gauge the state of the local economy. For a printed version of the Benchmark Report, click here.

Commercial
Real property valuations increased by nearly 137 million from 2007 to 2008 and a 77.5% increase from 2003. Commercial building permit values dropped to $63 million in 2008 from $102 million. New commercial additions have remained steady, with equal number of new business meters installed in 2007 and 2008. The commercial industrial tax value rose by $143 million, climbing 61.7% and adding $419 million dollars in the last 6 years.

Industrial/Mixed Use
New Braunfels has 3 areas designated as industrial parks. Lifehaus Industrial, Koontz McCombs Industrial Park and the New Braunfels Municipal Airport recently set aside land for industrial development on the west side. The airport have received significant grants from the Texas Department of Transportation to upgrade in the last year and recently rolled out their 20-year capital improvements plan to include many short-term to long-term plans. Currently, site preparation and infrastructure are in development.

Office
Office Space absorption rates increased in 2008 by 15.6%, up from the previous 4-year average of 23.3%. Over 158,000 square feet or 38% of inventor has been added since 2003.list major areas (list of major deals in last 3 years, how many square feet of office inventory, rent comparison, average office rates/square footage)

Retail
Sales tax revenue receipts also rose slightly, up from $13 million to $14,858,593 and continuing an 11.9% increase in the last six years.

Residential
Real property valuations posted gains of $2,871,763,424 for 2008, an increase of 87% in the last six years. Building permit values dropped significantly, reaching the lowest point ($66) million since 2003. This highest point was in 2006, reaching nearly $133 million in a single year.

For information regarding major subdivisions, average home prices and subdivision platting activities, please visit the City of New Braunfels Planning and Zoning website.
For a view of new neighborhoods in unincorporated Comal County , click here.

Housing
New Braunfels’ residential areas offer prospective residents a wide choice in living quarters. There are luxurious condominiums on the Comal River in the downtown area, homes and apartment complexes, from government subsidized to custom designed, scenic hill country sites to typical subdivisions, lake views at Canyon Lake, and acreage in the hill country. There is a city operated Housing Authority.

Multi-family
Building permit values have remained steady over the last 6 years, but slightly dropped from to 2007 to $2,963,050. The highest posted gain was in 2004 with nearly $13-million devoted to multi-family housing. Click here to visit a listing of apartments and rentals.