From the Blog
HOA Dues and MUD Taxes: New Construction's Hidden Monthly Cost in San Antonio
HOA dues in San Antonio builder communities typically run $150 to $400 a month, with amenitized master-planned neighborhoods reaching $200 to $600, and municipal utility districts add roughly 0.3% to 0.8% or more to the effective property tax rate in a development's early years. On a $300,000 home in a MUD, that combination can add $2,000 to $4,000 or more per year on top of the mortgage payment. Here is the honest breakdown of what new construction actually costs to live in, month to month.
HOA dues in San Antonio builder communities typically run $150 to $400 a month, with amenitized master-planned neighborhoods reaching $200 to $600, and municipal utility districts add roughly 0.3% to 0.8% or more to the effective property tax rate in a development's early years. On a $300,000 home in a MUD, that combination can add $2,000 to $4,000 or more per year on top of the mortgage payment. Here is the honest breakdown of what new construction actually costs to live in, month to month.
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The HOA numbers for new communities
Published 2026 guides put HOA dues in San Antonio builder and master-planned communities at roughly $150 to $400 a month, and highly amenitized communities like Alamo Ranch and other far-northwest master plans at $200 to $600. Do not let the often-quoted median of about $40 a month mislead you: that figure covers every listing in the city, most of them resale homes with no or minimal HOAs. New communities fund pools, clubhouses, parks, gates, and landscaping through dues, so the number is higher by design, and it belongs in your budget from the start.
What a MUD is, and what it adds to your tax bill
A municipal utility district, or MUD, is a special district that borrows money to build the infrastructure of a new community: water, sewer, drainage, and roads. Homeowners pay off that debt through a separate line on the property tax bill. Texas MUD rates typically run $0.25 to $1.50 per $100 of assessed value, and a commonly cited example, 80 cents per $100, works out to about $2,400 a year on a $300,000 home. Those bills are highest in a development's early years and decline as the bonds are retired.
The effective rate picture: roughly 3% in early MUD years
A typical Bexar County home carries a combined rate around 2.1% to 2.6% of assessed value, with about 2.27% the commonly cited 2025 figure for the city of San Antonio. In MUD-covered new builds, planning guides say the early years can push the total toward 3% or more, with the MUD and PID portion adding roughly 0.3% to 0.8% to the effective rate before it eases. On a $400,000 home, a one-point difference in effective rate is roughly $4,000 a year, so this is not a rounding error; it is a line item to know before you fall in love with a floor plan.
Five questions to ask before you sign with a builder
Ask for the current HOA dues and what they include, the MUD or PID tax rate for the specific homesite, and how long the district has been bonded, because the bill falls as bonds retire. Ask whether there is a separate PID, or public improvement district, on top of the MUD, and ask how the builder's estimated tax bill compares to the actual rate for homes already closed in the community. Builders publish base prices with precision and gloss over monthly costs on purpose; the specific numbers are public, you just have to ask.
Budgeting it honestly
A $200 monthly HOA plus a $200 monthly MUD share on a $300,000 home is $4,800 a year that never shows up in the mortgage quote. Lenders qualify you on principal, interest, taxes, and insurance, and HOA dues count toward your debt-to-income ratio, but the MUD portion is buried in the tax estimate. Before you choose between a new community and a resale home without a MUD, put both monthly totals side by side: a resale home with the same purchase price and no MUD often carries a meaningfully lower total payment, which is why the honest comparison matters.
Written by Phyllis Domingo
REALTOR® · TX License 745926 · 100+ homes sold · Helping families move well in San Antonio and the Hill Country since long before the hard part became normal.
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