Shavano Park Estates and Shavano Park's Estate-Lot Neighborhoods (2026): What Sold, Which Are Gated, and What to Check Before You Offer

by Christopher Beal

LAST UPDATED: OCTOBER 13, 2026 | BY CHRISTOPHER BEAL, U.S. ARMY VETERAN & REALTOR

AI-generated illustration of a stone-pillared gated entry with estate homes under oak trees; not a photograph of any Shavano Park neighborhood — Illustration only (AI-generated). It does not show a specific Shavano Park subdivision, gate or home.

Short answer: There is no separate gated enclave called the "Estates at Shavano Park." Shavano Park Estates (also called Shavano Estates) is a 1970s neighborhood inside the City of Shavano Park with one-acre minimum lots, no homeowners association, city water and homeowner-maintained septic, according to the City of Shavano Park community page. The gated choices inside the city are Bentley Manor, Huntington, Willow Wood and the eight-home De Zavala Estates. In the MLS closed sales I pulled for the city's neighborhoods from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, prices ran from $530,000 to $4,000,000, and the neighborhood drove most of that spread. A VA loan can work at any of these price points: with full entitlement VA sets no loan limit, but your lender's approval and the VA appraisal still cap what you can borrow.

I'm Christopher Beal, a U.S. Army veteran, REALTOR (TREC License #723559) and Owner of Veteran Real Estate San Antonio, brokered by eXp Realty. Full bio and credentials.

Correction, October 13, 2026: An earlier version of this guide described a gated "Estates at Shavano Park" with its own HOA, said Shavano Park is zoned to North East ISD, stated a VA loan cap for buyers with full entitlement, and gave drive times and price tiers that were not sourced. Those statements were wrong or unsupported and have been removed. The neighborhood facts below come from the city, the school district, Bexar County, VA.gov and a stated MLS pull.

Which Shavano Park Neighborhood Are You Actually Looking At?

Shavano Park is a separately incorporated city (June 19, 1956) of about 3.3 square miles in north-central Bexar County, surrounded by San Antonio along Loop 1604. The city lists its own neighborhoods, and they differ in exactly the things that change your contract: whether there is a gate, whether there is an HOA, whether the home is on septic, and how big the lots are.

Neighborhood (inside the city)	Gate and HOA (per city)	Water and sewer (per city)	Lots (per city)	MLS closed sales, 10/1/2025-9/30/2026
Shavano Park Estates and Old Shavano Park (MLS label "Shavano Park")	Not described as gated; Shavano Park Estates has no HOA	Shavano Park Water System; homeowner-maintained septic	Estates: 1 acre minimum. Old Shavano Park west: 0.7 acre minimum; some east lots near 5 acres	16 sales, $530,000-$1,800,000
Bentley Manor (incl. Garden Villas)	Gated	SAWS water and sewer	Three sections: zero-lot-line Cottage Estates and Garden Villas; the Estates section about 0.7 acre	10 sales, $650,000-$2,130,000
Huntington at Shavano Park	Gated	SAWS water and sewer	Estate-sized homesites (no acreage stated by the city)	9 sales, $2,300,000-$4,000,000
Shavano Creek	Own HOA; gate not stated by the city	SAWS water and sewer	0.7 acre minimum	4 sales, $1,180,000-$2,050,000
Willow Wood	Gated	SAWS water and sewer	93 custom homes on a 49-acre tract	2 sales, $974,000-$1,200,000
Pond Hill Garden Villas	Not stated by the city	SAWS water and sewer	Not stated	2 sales, $585,000-$599,000
De Zavala Estates	Gated; own HOA; eight homes	SAWS water; homeowner-maintained septic	2 to 6 acres	No sales in this window

Sources: neighborhood, gate, HOA, utility and lot details from the City of Shavano Park community page, read October 13, 2026. Sales from SABOR/LERA MLS, pulled October 13, 2026: closed sales, property type Residential (RE), close dates October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, matched by MLS city "Shavano Park" or by these subdivision names; 43 sales in total, every page of results returned. MLS subdivision labels are typed by listing agents, so the label "Shavano Park" does not separate Shavano Park Estates from Old Shavano Park, and a sale entered under a different name could be missing. These are ranges of the sales found, not neighborhood medians.

"Shavano" in a subdivision name does not mean the city of Shavano Park. In the same MLS window, 60 of the 85 closed sales whose subdivision name contained "SHAVANO" were in subdivisions that are not on the city's neighborhood list, such as Woods of Shavano, Shavano Highlands, Shavano Heights and Shavano Forest (ZIP codes 78249, 78230 and 78257), at $235,000 to $1,185,000. The MLS records for all but one of those 60 list San Antonio as the city. A City of San Antonio address has a different city tax rate, utility provider and city services, so check the city on the tax record before you compare prices.

How to Choose Between Them

Most of the decision comes down to four housing facts, all of which you can confirm before you write an offer:

Gate and HOA. If you want a gated street, the city's list points you to Bentley Manor, Huntington, Willow Wood or De Zavala Estates. If you would rather not have an HOA at all, Shavano Park Estates has none per the city. Either way, get the HOA documents (or written confirmation that none applies) for the exact address.
Septic or sewer. Shavano Park Estates, Old Shavano Park and De Zavala Estates use homeowner-maintained septic; the other city neighborhoods are on SAWS sewer. Septic adds an inspection and a permit check to your option period (below).
Lot size. One-acre-plus lots are concentrated in Shavano Park Estates, parts of Old Shavano Park, Huntington and De Zavala Estates. Bentley Manor and Pond Hill include zero-lot-line and small-lot homes.
Price. In the sales above, Huntington sat in a different band ($2.3 million and up) from Shavano Park Estates and Old Shavano Park ($530,000 to $1.8 million). Price follows the specific street, lot and house, so pull recent sales for the exact block before you set a budget.

For base access, Shavano Park sits on Loop 1604 in north-central Bexar County, and JBSA-Camp Bullis is to its northwest. Drive the route from the specific address to your gate at your actual report time on a weekday, using a live traffic map, before you commit; I don't publish a single drive-time figure because it changes by address, gate and hour. For a broader look at Shavano Park near Camp Bullis, see my Shavano Park and Camp Bullis guide.

Schools are a district lookup, not a neighborhood label. Northside ISD's attendance-area map for Blattman Elementary (3300 N Loop 1604 W) covers the Shavano Park area. School districts are listed for reference only, not rated. Campus assignment depends on the exact address and boundaries change; verify the zoned campus with the district and review current ratings directly from the Texas Education Agency before you write an offer.

Can I Use a VA Loan Here, Even Above $1 Million?

Yes, with conditions. VA states that if you have full entitlement, you don't have a VA loan limit, as long as you can afford the loan and the appraisal supports the price (VA.gov, loan limits). Two things still constrain a high-priced purchase:

Your lender. VA sets no maximum loan amount for full entitlement, but lenders set their own maximums, credit and reserve requirements for large VA loans. Those are lender requirements, not VA rules, so ask each lender for theirs in writing.
Remaining entitlement. If part of your entitlement is tied up in another VA loan, VA bases your remaining entitlement on the county loan limit, and the lender may ask for a down payment to cover the gap. See my guide to using a VA loan more than once.

On a septic property, ask your lender at pre-approval what the appraiser and underwriter will need to see for the septic system, so it doesn't surface late. My VA appraisal requirements guide covers how repairs flagged by the appraiser are handled. I'm a REALTOR, not a lender or financial advisor; your loan terms come from your lender.

What to Check on a Shavano Park Contract

The septic permit. Bexar County requires every on-site sewage facility in the county to be permitted, and an existing system found without a permit needs a site survey and design from a sanitarian or engineer (Bexar County OSSF program). Ask the seller for the permit, the system type and the last pump receipt; a standard system renews every five years with a pump receipt, and an aerobic system needs an ongoing service contract. Order a septic inspection during the option period; a general home inspection does not cover it.
Water provider. Shavano Park Estates and Old Shavano Park are on the city's own water system, which draws from the Edwards and Trinity aquifers; most other neighborhoods are on SAWS. Confirm the provider for the address so your utility setup and budget are right.
HOA or no HOA. Get the resale certificate, budget and rules for gated or HOA neighborhoods, or written confirmation that no HOA applies.
City rules for your plans. If you plan a pool, addition or tree removal, ask the City of Shavano Park what permits apply before the option period ends.
The tax units on the address. Look up the exact property on the Bexar Appraisal District site to see which taxing units apply, and check whether you qualify for the Texas disabled veteran property tax exemption.

Next step: If you're weighing a specific Shavano Park address, call me at (210) 882-8583 and I'll go through these five checks and the recent sales on that street with you before you schedule a showing. Relocating on orders? Start with my military relocation services.

About the Author: Christopher Beal

Christopher Beal is a U.S. Army veteran and the Owner of Veteran Real Estate San Antonio, a Beal Group practice brokered by eXp Realty (TREC License #723559). A Military Relocation Professional (MRP) and VAREP member, he is a 7-time eXp Realty ICON agent, winner of Best Real Estate Agency in the 2026 Best of San Antonio Readers' Choice (San Antonio Current, 100,000+ voters), and a 3x San Antonio Business Journal Top 25 Individual Agent (#13 in 2024, #14 in 2025, #20 in 2026). His recognition also includes 3x Platinum Top 50, 2x RateMyAgent Agent of the Year, 2x Real Producers Top 100, Five Star Professional (2026), and a RealTrends 2026 ranking. He has helped 325+ families, closed more than $125M in career volume, and holds 5.0 stars across 370+ verified reviews, working almost exclusively with military and veteran buyers and sellers across Bexar, Comal, Kendall, Medina, and Bandera counties, with a focus on VA loans, PCS moves, and homebuying near JBSA-Lackland, JBSA-Randolph, and Fort Sam Houston. For Shavano Park purchases he checks the neighborhood, utility, HOA and permit facts for the exact address before the option period starts. He can be reached at (210) 882-8583.

Questions Buyers Ask

Is there a gated community called the Estates at Shavano Park?

Not as a separate gated enclave on the city's list. Shavano Park Estates (Shavano Estates) is a 1970s neighborhood with one-acre minimum lots and no HOA. The gated neighborhoods the city lists are Bentley Manor, Huntington, Willow Wood and De Zavala Estates.

Is Shavano Park part of San Antonio?

No. Shavano Park is its own incorporated city, surrounded by San Antonio, in north-central Bexar County. Several nearby subdivisions with "Shavano" in the name are in the City of San Antonio, so check the city on the tax record.

Are Shavano Park Estates homes on septic?

Per the city, Shavano Park Estates, Old Shavano Park and De Zavala Estates use homeowner-maintained septic. Bexar County requires every septic system to be permitted, so ask for the permit and order a septic inspection during the option period.

Can I buy a $1 million-plus Shavano Park home with a VA loan?

With full entitlement, VA sets no loan limit; the lender's own maximums and requirements and the VA appraisal still apply. With partial entitlement, the county loan limit affects how much VA guarantees, and the lender may ask for a down payment.

Which school district serves Shavano Park?

Northside ISD's attendance-area map for Blattman Elementary covers the Shavano Park area. Confirm the zoned campus for the exact address with the district before you offer.