Make no mistake — this is a buyer's market right now. We're coming off the back end of Port Aransas' typically heavier summer buying season, and the data shows real seller fatigue: days on market climbing, closings slowing for four straight months, and a growing number of listings that have been sitting long enough for sellers to be ready to talk. If you've been waiting for leverage, this is it.
If you're buying from out of town, you need someone on the ground who actually knows this market — and I'll make my own shameless plug here: beyond selling real estate, I also own and operate a vacation rental management company here in Port Aransas. That means I'm not just guessing at what a property could rent for — I'm actively managing bookings, pricing, and returns for real owners every day. I know what sells, what sits, how to get a property booked at the right rate, and how to deliver above-market returns for the properties I manage. That's the lens behind every pick on this list.
Not every good deal announces itself with a fresh price cut and a "motivated seller" banner. Some of the best opportunities in the 78373 right now are quietly sitting in plain sight — priced under what their own neighborhood typically commands, waiting far longer than similar homes nearby, in submarkets where that combination almost never lasts.
The method behind the list
Every submarket in Port Aransas has its own unique features. Cinnamon Shore and Palmilla are master planned Watercolor-esque STR resort communities that move fast and command a premium — homes there typically sell in the $680–$700 per square foot range and don't sit long. Island Moorings doesn't allow STRs, is situated on canals and runs a bit more affordable. General Port Aransas is more budget-friendly and slowest-moving of the bunch.
"Cheap" only means something relative to those benchmarks, and "stale" only means leverage when a property has been sitting longer than its own neighborhood typically allows. So I looked for properties that check both boxes at once: priced meaningfully below their submarket's median price per square foot, and sitting on the market well past their submarket's typical pace. That combination is rare — and when it shows up in a strong, in-demand neighborhood, it's usually a sign that a good property has simply been overlooked, not that something's wrong with it.
The standouts: strong submarkets & real value
These are properties in Cinnamon Shore, Sunflower, and Island Moorings — submarkets that normally sell quickly and hold their price — priced below their own neighborhood's median and sitting well past the norm. In a market this competitive, that's the buyer's equivalent of finding money on the sidewalk.
- 140 Bent Grass Dr, Cinnamon Shore — $1,075,000 for 1,882 sqft, or $571/sqft — 18% below the Cinnamon Shore median. It's been on the market 512 days, roughly five times the typical pace for this neighborhood. A Cinnamon Shore property priced under its own market and sitting this long is genuinely rare — worth a serious look before it gets discovered. It's not just a price story either: this property grossed over $80,000 in rental income in 2025 — strong, proven ROI for a buyer thinking beyond the purchase price.
- 3700 Island Moorings Pkwy #16, Island Moorings — $975,000 for 2,603 sqft, $375/sqft — 31% below the Island Moorings median, 566 days on market.
- 122 Bent Grass Dr, Cinnamon Shore — $1,550,000 for 2,997 sqft, $517/sqft — 26% below median, 201 days on market. This one comes with over $72,000 in validated rental income last year — real, documented performance, not a projection.
- 125 Fish Hook Lane, Cinnamon Shore — $1,090,000 for 1,762 sqft, $619/sqft — 12% below median, 194 days on market. Also backed by real numbers: over $71,000 in validated rental income last year.
- 705 Sunrise Ave, Sunflower — $1,265,000 for 2,076 sqft, $609/sqft, 201 days on market. Sunflower is a small enough submarket that there isn't much direct comp inventory to benchmark against — but the rental upside is well documented, with projected gross annual rental revenue of $65,000.
Port Aransas general: value plays for buyers who want more house for the money plus strong STR income
General Port Aransas is already the most affordable submarket in the zip code — so a property priced well below even that benchmark, and sitting significantly longer than typical, is a signal that the seller is ready to talk.
- 515 W Avenue C — $639,900 for 2,001 sqft, $320/sqft — 24% below the Port Aransas median, 542 days on market.
- 699 Morgan Cr #104 — $435,000 for 1,492 sqft, $292/sqft — 31% below median, 478 days on market. This one's worth a second look beyond the price alone: as the property manager for a comparable unit in this complex through Grand Welcome, I'm seeing close to $40,000 a year in gross rental income — real, current performance data on what this address can produce for the right investor, not a projection.
- 178 Mustang Royale — $749,000 for 2,516 sqft, $298/sqft — 30% below median, 260 days on market.
Interested in these in Cinnamon Shore, Island Moorings, Palmilla and/or Port Aransas? Contact me and we can do the full ROI analysis on these to evaluate true earning potential.
Shameless plug: my own listings, and which ones are the best buys right now
I'd be doing you a disservice if I pulled this analysis and didn't turn the same lens on my own inventory. Here's how five of my active listings stack up — and which ones I'd point any value-minded buyer toward.
Best buy #1 — 210 Social Circle #9-107, Cinnamon Shore. Just repriced to $1,395,000 for 2,587 sqft, or $539/sqft — nearly 23% below the Cinnamon Shore median. What makes this one special isn't just the price — it's only been on the market 88 days, actually faster than the typical Cinnamon Shore pace. This isn't a stale listing that finally got cheap enough; it's a well-priced property in the strongest submarket in the zip code that simply hasn't been snatched up yet.
Best buy #2 — 167 Spanish Dagger, Palmilla. $879,000 for 2,092 sqft, or $420/sqft — nearly 40% below the Palmilla median. Three near-identical comps on the same street have closed at or below $870,000, meaning this listing is already priced right in line with what's actually trading nearby — in a submarket where the broader median runs dramatically higher. Plus, this property is having it's best year in terms of STR rental income.
Best buy #3 — 500 Ocean View, Port Aransas (gulf-front). $2,495,000 for 4,513 sqft, or $553/sqft. Measured against the rest of the zip code this looks like a luxury number — but measured against its true peer group (Port Aransas' own $2.25M+ tier, which averages $795/sqft), it's priced below the competition. Direct gulf-front access - heck! practically right on the beach - at this basis is genuinely hard to find...anywhere.
264 Marina Dr, Island Moorings. $890,000 for 1,961 sqft, or $454/sqft — about 17% below the Island Moorings median. This corner-lot property has some cosmetic and maintenance items to address, which is exactly why the price reflects room to invest — a straightforward opportunity for a buyer willing to put in a little work for meaningful upside. Plus this is on-the-water living in Island Moorings - great access to the canal, to the flats, and straight out into the gulf.
301 E Avenue C #2, Port Aransas. $619,000 for 1,476 sqft, or $419/sqft — right in line with the Port Aransas median. The price isn't a steep-discount play, but the income story is: this property is having its best year yet, on pace for $55,000 already in gross rental income for 2026, and has outperformed the broader Port Aransas market in both occupancy and RevPAR every single month this year. For an investor weighing sticker price against actual return, this is a newer-build (2011), 4-bedroom, pool home that's already proving itself as a top-tier income producer.
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One more thing: a unique opportunity for a bold investor
I couldn't leave this one out, even though it's not one of my own listings. A nearly finished 5-unit luxury townhome community in Port Aransas (on Ave A just around the corner from the Marina) has crossed my desk as a foreclosure-priced opportunity — priced at $3,100,000 against a recent appraisal of $4.56M. The package is 5 total units with 2 shared pools: three 4-bed/4-bath townhomes (1,680–1,778 sqft) with rooftop terraces, gulf views, and 2-car attached garages, plus two 1-bed/1-bath units (580 sqft) with private balconies and 1-car garages. It's roughly $55,000 of remaining work away from being fully rent-ready ahead of peak summer season.
The upside case is real: with short-term nightly rates reported up to $1,400 on the larger units and $400 on the smaller ones, several of these units carry the potential to gross $60,000+ each in annual rental income once complete — a genuinely rare find in a market this starved for new construction inventory.
Here's what makes this one time-sensitive: according to my source, the bank behind this deal wants an offer — any offer — and wants to move quickly, with room to potentially build a renovation budget into the deal itself. That's a real window for the right buyer to structure something creative.
I'm not the listing broker on this one, so every number here is unverified and needs independent due diligence. But I can connect you directly to the investor or broker on this opportunity and help facilitate the deal from there — reach out to me if you want the introduction.
Bottom line
The best deals in this market aren't always the ones with the biggest "price reduced" banner — sometimes they're the ones that never needed one, sitting quietly in a neighborhood buyers assume they can't afford to be patient in.
I'm working hard to make sure my listings are priced for today's market, not the illusions of yesteryear. Together, this is a must-see list of high-quality second homes and solid STR income producers. If any of these catch your eye, reach out and I'll pull full comps, condition details, income history, and get deep into evaluating true ROI.