Updated April 23, 2026
A German river town that doubled in fourteen years
New Braunfels is a city of approximately 116,000 in Comal County, located on I-35 about 30 minutes northeast of San Antonio and 50 minutes south of Austin. Founded in 1845 by German immigrants, it sits at the confluence of the Comal and Guadalupe Rivers — home of Schlitterbahn (now Six Flags), the historic Gruene district and Gruene Hall (oldest continually operating dance hall in Texas, 1878), Naegelin's Bakery (oldest continually operating bakery in Texas, 1868), and the annual Wurstfest celebration. It is served by both Comal ISD and New Braunfels ISD, depending on address.
Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels led the first Adelsverein settlers here on Good Friday, March 21, 1845, and named the colony for his ancestral seat in Hesse. The German-Texan identity has held: Naegelin's Bakery has run since 1868, Gruene Hall since 1878, and Wurstfest fills ten days of every November.
Schlitterbahn — the world's first German-themed waterpark, opened 1979 by the Henry family beside Landa Park — put the city on the national tourism map. Cedar Fair bought it in 2019; Six Flags absorbed it in the July 2024 merger, so signage may say either.
Population grew from 57,740 in 2010 to roughly 116,477 in 2024, a near-doubling that reshaped the housing stock, the school districts, the SH 46 corridor, and the patience of long-time residents at peak hours.
Three buyer profiles dominate: out-of-state relocations from California, the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest; Austin and San Antonio buyers priced out of their own metros; and local upgrade buyers moving from older NBISD stock into newer SH-46 product.
1 · School assignment. Comal ISD and NBISD split the city; the same street can switch.
2 · Flood zone. The October 1998 and June/July 2002 events set the FEMA maps that price insurance. Check NFIP requirements.
3 · STR ordinance. The city has tightened rules; status matters near the rivers.
At combined property-tax rates that run roughly 1.8–2.6% depending on district — PIDs, MUDs and WIDs stack on top of the base rate — owning the median home costs about what renting a comparable place costs. With prices up just 1.1% year over year, the cost of waiting is low.
The real risk isn't timing the market — it's buying in the wrong part of a 45-square-mile, two-county, two-district city. School assignment, flood zone and short-term-rental rules can all flip from one street to the next, so the address matters more than the ZIP code. Run the rent-versus-own math against your actual district and payment before you commit.
Where to Live
Veramendi
~2,400-acre master-planned community on the western edge, still building out. Clean district assignment, multiple builders, pools, trails, lifestyle director. Default for out-of-state new-construction buyers.
Vintage Oaks
~3,900 acres of one-acre-plus homesites with custom builders, clubhouse, pools, fitness and tennis. The premium acreage address; heavy California cash presence. Long-term hold, strong resale.
Mayfair
~1,900–2,400-acre SouthStar master-planned community on the north side, north of Kohlenberg Road along I-35, that landed the $37M Costco (opening 2026). Feeds Comal ISD — Freiheit, Canyon Middle and Canyon High, plus new on-site campuses. New construction without the SH-46 commute math.
Meyer Ranch
~700 acres with a strong builder lineup, amenity center and trail network. The middle ground between master-planned and full acreage.
Havenwood at Hunters Crossing
~1,200 acres on the north side, gated, with clubhouse, pools, tennis and trails, and an established feel rather than an active build-out.
Gruene & Historic Downtown
Two NRHP-recognized districts around Gruene Hall, the Gristmill, the Main Plaza and Naegelin's. Scarce, premium-priced, frequently pulled into short-term rental.
The Reference Desk
1 · The growth engine. 57,740 in 2010 to roughly 116,477 in 2024 — among the fastest runs of any Texas city its size. Veramendi opened 2019, Vintage Oaks spans 3,900 acres, Mayfair anchors the north side, Meyer Ranch sits on SH 46 W. New construction carries a meaningful share of comp activity; out-of-state cash buyers reshaped pricing 2020–2023. The pace has normalized; demand is intact.
Source. Redfin put the New Braunfels median sale price at $348,875 for the three months ending June 2026, up 1.1% year over year, on 436 sales and 69 median days on market. Monthly figures move and submarkets vary, so verify at the address.
2 · The two-ISD nuance. Comal's A versus NBISD's B is a real comp variable, but Vintage Oaks acreage prices on its own curve, Gruene's historic premium has nothing to do with feeder pattern, and Mayfair benefits from Costco. Pick the lifestyle and product first, then verify district at the address — optimizing for a letter grade alone means missing better fits inside NBISD.
3 · The STR distortion. Anything within ten minutes of the Comal or Guadalupe — especially walkable to Gruene Hall, the Gristmill or downtown — competes with short-term-rental investors who pencil the property differently. Opportunity on one side, risk on the other. The city has tightened its ordinance; verify status before underwriting.
Typical housing stock. Master-planned anchors on SH 46 plus Mayfair south, mid-2000s NBISD built-outs like Cotton Crossing, Gruene and downtown historic premium, and active new construction along the corridor.
Spine is I-35 north–south, I-10 east to Seguin and Houston, SH 46 west to Bulverde and Boerne. Transit is limited: Fox Tracks Trolley seasonal downtown loop, Uber and Lyft citywide, a VIA Metropolitan Transit connection to the San Antonio network, no commuter rail. Car services: Enterprise in NB, Hertz and Avis at SAT, Tesla service in San Antonio ~30 min, dealer service along the I-35 corridor.
Bike and active transit: Landa Park trails (196 acres on the Comal Springs), the Comal River walk downtown segment, Cypress Bend Park on the Comal side, and Fischer Park on the NBISD side.
Urgent care: NextCare, CHRISTUS, Resolute, MinuteClinic (CVS). Pharmacies: H-E-B, CVS, Walgreens, Costco at Mayfair. Vet: New Braunfels Animal Hospital, Banfield, emergency vet in San Antonio ~30 min, PetSmart and Petco. Hotels for visiting family: Schlitterbahn Resort, Hyatt Place at the Convention Center, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Gruene Mansion Inn.
Multiple H-E-B locations, a Walmart Supercenter, and the recent Costco at Mayfair on the south side. Retail nodes: New Braunfels Marketplace on the I-35 corridor, Creekside Town Center, and historic downtown around Main Plaza for boutique and specialty shopping. San Marcos Premium Outlets 25 minutes north.
City-contracted weekly trash, scheduled recycling, and bulk and brush pickup by zone inside city limits. Rural Comal County is private contract — Republic Services and others. Look up your zone and day on the city portal.
Downtown is anchored by Naegelin's Bakery at 129 S Seguin Ave, the oldest continually operating bakery in Texas, since 1868. Standouts: Krause's Cafe & Biergarten, McAdoo's Seafood Co., Huisache Grill, Mozie's, and Old City Hall, opened February 17, 2026. In Gruene: Gristmill River Restaurant & Bar in the historic cotton-gin ruins, and Gruene River Grill. Verify hours during tubing season — patio capacity gets stretched.
Landa Park's 196 acres on the Comal Springs, plus the river-walk trails, Cypress Bend Park, Fischer Park and Hinman Island Park. Boarding and daycare are well served locally and overflow into San Antonio on high-demand weekends.
Inside city limits, New Braunfels Utilities (NBU) handles electric, water and wastewater — municipally owned, single-bill convenience that's unusual in Texas. Outside city limits the electric provider depends on address, likely GVEC across much of the SH-46 corridor and Comal ISD areas. Gas is Atmos or CenterPoint; internet leans Spectrum and GVTC Communications fiber. Verify at the specific address.
New Texas residents transfer registration and license within 90 days. Comal County Tax Assessor downtown handles vehicle registration; Texas DPS runs a New Braunfels driver license office. Courts and records sit at the 1898 Comal County Courthouse on Main Plaza; property records at the Comal Appraisal District. City of New Braunfels handles permits.
New Braunfels has managed something almost no Texas city its size pulls off: a real, distinct cultural identity — German-Texan, river-anchored, festival-driven — that survived the population doubling. The credit goes to the rivers, Gruene, the festival calendar, and a downtown that predates the interstate.
Two spring-fed rivers
The only U.S. city built at the confluence of two spring-fed rivers — the Comal, shortest in Texas at ~2.5 miles and fed entirely by the Comal Springs in Landa Park, and the Guadalupe. Year-round fishing, summer tubing, fall canoe trips, cold water even in August.
Wurstfest · Nov 6–15, 2026
A ten-day November celebration of Texas-German culture, oompah bands, sausage, beer and Wursthalle dancing — the largest of its kind in the U.S. Saengerfest May 2, 2026 and Wassailfest the first Thursday of December round out the calendar.
Schlitterbahn, now Six Flags
Opened 1979 by the Henry family beside Landa Park — the first German-themed waterpark in the world. Cedar Fair 2019, Six Flags after the July 2024 merger. Still a major local employer at ~2,000 seasonal.
Gruene Hall, since 1878
The oldest continually operating dance hall in Texas. Tin roof, wooden floor, screens for windows, live music most nights, and a marquee history that reads like a Texas-music hall of fame.
Naegelin's Bakery, since 1868
129 S Seguin Avenue, opened by Edouard Naegelin. Strudel, kolaches, bear claws, pigs-in-blankets — a counter that hasn't really changed in 150 years, and a Saturday-morning ritual for any local.
Landa Park & the Comal Springs
196 acres on the largest natural cold-water spring system in the southwestern U.S. Oaks, picnic grounds, paddleboats, mini-train, and a pool fed by 75-degree spring water. Donated to the city in 1936.
New Braunfels Preferred Partners
Trusted local professionals hand-selected for new and relocating residents. Every partner listed has been reviewed by our team.
Eric Newland
Retired U.S. Army Medical Service Corps officer with tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, and Germany. As a Military Relocation Professional (MRP), Eric brings the precision, follow-through, and direct communication of his service career to every transaction — same-day callbacks, in-person presence at inspections and walkthroughs, and the kind of post-closing availability most clients don't realize they need until they need it.
Eric works the corridor from New Braunfels to San Antonio, with deep familiarity in Comal County, Canyon Lake, and the Randolph AFB communities around Schertz — the areas military families PCSing to the region ask about most. Whether you're buying your first Texas home, selling before your next assignment, or relocating from out of state, Eric handles the details so you don't have to chase them. Active-duty service members, military retirees, first-time Texas buyers, and longtime locals all get the same standard.
Jeanette Boscamp
Broker/Owner of Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors and a Texas real estate professional since 1991, with three decades of experience spanning from Kerrville down through the Rio Grande Valley.
Now concentrating on New Braunfels' luxury market as a Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist (CLHMS), with family roots in Havenwood and River Chase that give her resident-level knowledge of these gated Hill Country communities — not the listing-sheet level. RE/MAX Hall of Fame and Platinum Club inductee, with a former top-20 statewide ranking in her division.
Jeanette works New Braunfels, Canyon Lake, and Bulverde — waterfront and lake properties, Hill Country acreage, and the gated communities relocating buyers ask about first. Inquiries go directly to her, with a same-day callback standard.
Yvonne Hoffmann
A 6th-generation Texan and native to the Central Texas Hill Country, Yvonne has spent 20+ years selling real estate across the region — bringing prior careers in banking and construction to every closing table. That combination pays off when a deal hits a financing snag or an inspection surprise, and it's why out-of-state relocation buyers and longtime locals alike count on her for plain-English answers and steady follow-through.
Yvonne works the full price spectrum, from first-time Texas buyers through $5M-plus luxury transactions, with the same personal attention at every level. Her CRS, e-PRO, and TAHS designations back deep local expertise across New Braunfels, Canyon Lake, Spring Branch, Bulverde, Schertz, Cibolo, San Marcos, Seguin, and northeast San Antonio.
Paid placement. This featured mortgage position is a disclosed advertising placement held by Edge Home Finance Corporation.
Steve Tomaselli — Edge Home Finance Corporation
Steve has spent 33 years in the mortgage business on the I-35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio. Through Edge Home Finance Corporation — a national broker channel — he offers the full product menu most retail banks can't match: conventional, FHA, VA, jumbo, investor DSCR, bank-statement, and temporary buydown structures (1-0, 2-1, and 3-2-1). The breadth matters because most buyers discover mid-transaction that their lender can't actually deliver the loan they need — and re-shopping after the contract is signed loses deals. Steve qualifies clients up front against multiple product structures, runs the comparison math in plain English, and stays available evenings and weekends because relocation buyers and self-employed borrowers don't keep banker's hours. Whether you're moving from California, climbing the ladder between San Marcos and Seguin, or building an investment portfolio across Central Texas, Steve is the guy who picks up the phone.
Texas Property Inspections
Owned and operated by Zachary Allgeyer, a TREC Licensed Professional Inspector and InterNACHI Certified Professional Inspector based in New Braunfels — serving Central Texas from South Austin through San Antonio.
Moving to New Braunfels, Texas: The Short Version
Moving to New Braunfels means choosing between two school districts, two rivers, and a fast-growing housing market on the I-35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio. This guide covers New Braunfels neighborhoods like Veramendi, Vintage Oaks, Mayfair, and Meyer Ranch; the New Braunfels schools picture across Comal ISD and New Braunfels ISD; and the current New Braunfels housing market for buyers and renters weighing their options.
Living in New Braunfels TX puts you at the confluence of the Comal and Guadalupe Rivers, home to Gruene Hall, Schlitterbahn, Naegelin's Bakery, and Wurstfest. Both Comal ISD (B, 87/100) and New Braunfels ISD (B, 81/100) earned passing marks in the 2024-25 TEA accountability ratings, and school assignment can change street to street — verify at the address before you make an offer.
Compare nearby Central Texas communities and dig deeper into the local market with these guides: San Marcos, Seguin, Wimberley, and Universal City. Renters can start with the New Braunfels Rental Guide or the Renting vs. Buying New Braunfels breakdown.
For current market data, see the Redfin New Braunfels market report and the U.S. Census QuickFacts for New Braunfels.