Most buyers I show around treat FM 3009 like it ends at the Chick-fil-A in Schertz. It doesn't. Keep driving east toward Seguin and you're in the most under-priced stretch of dirt within an hour of San Antonio.

Here's the number people don't want to hear: Seguin's median sale price hit $284,686 in the three months ending May 2026, per Redfin's May 2026 market report. New Braunfels sits at $339,797 for the same window. That's roughly 16% cheaper for a house 20 minutes down I-10. New construction pencils out around $161/sq ft in Seguin versus $203 in NB. Same builders. Same subs. Different zip code.

And it's not staying quiet out there.

Houston-based NewQuest broke ground in June on the Seguin Exchange — 544 acres at I-10 and SH-46. 750,000+ sq ft of retail, 2 million sq ft of industrial, plus medical, hospitality, and multifamily. First stores are targeting late 2027. Two weeks ago, KTH Texas announced a $100 million, 300,000-square-foot auto plant on 40 acres off FM 78 near that same I-10/SH-46 corner. 170 jobs by 2031. That was in MySA on July 12.

You don't get two announcements like that back-to-back in a market that's going to stay $285K.

What the FM 3009 corridor actually feels like

Drive it. From the Schertz end you've got the strip commercial, the newer subdivisions with the St. Augustine lawns, Total True Automotive at 1000 FM 3009 (used to be Schertz Auto Service No 1 — same guys, honest work). Keep going east and it opens up. Live oaks. Cedar. Limestone poking through the pasture. By the time you hit Seguin proper you're at Max Starcke Park, 227 acres on the Guadalupe with a public golf course and river access that would cost you a country club membership anywhere else in the Hill Country.

Go downtown and there's the World's Largest Pecan sitting in front of the courthouse. Yes, really. Seguin leans into being the Pecan Capital and I respect that more than I respect the fake-Tuscan gates on half the new developments in Bulverde.

The Powerplant Texas Bar & Grill on Stockdale Hwy — 1895 municipal power plant, patio on the Guadalupe, live music most weekends. That's the kind of thing that's already there and not priced in yet.

Now — the stuff nobody at the open house is going to tell you.

Guadalupe County's effective property tax rate runs 1.33%, per Ownwell's April 2026 data. National median is 1.02%. On a $285K house that's real money and it eats a chunk of the price gap versus Comal County. Protest deadline is May 15 or 30 days after your notice. Successful protests averaged $1,336 in savings in 2023. Do it.

Schools matter here more than usual because Seguin ISD pulled a D rating in 2025 while Navarro ISD is in the top 20% for graduation rates. Two districts, one town, wildly different outcomes. Zone before you write the offer, not after.

If you're out on acreage east of town you're probably on well and septic. Guadalupe County septic permits are $200 conventional, $350 aerobic, 10-30 business days to approve, and installs run $5,000-$15,000. Wells have to be registered with the Guadalupe County Groundwater Conservation District and non-exempt ones need a permit before you drill. Not a dealbreaker. Just budget it.

The take I'll defend: Seguin right now is where New Braunfels was around 2010. Same bones, same river, better price, and the industrial money is already committed. If you're buying to live in it for ten years, or you're sitting on undeveloped land near the I-10/SH-46 interchange, you're early. Not that early. But early.

The FM 3009 corridor isn't a shortcut anymore. It's the address.

Data sourced from Redfin (May 2026 Seguin market), Movoto (June 2026), Seguin Today (June 16, 2026), MySA (July 12, 2026), and Ownwell (April 2026). Verify current numbers with a local agent before acting.