Esperanza

Esperanza is Boerne's largest new-construction community: 1,608 platted parcels on about 571 acres, median lot 0.206 acres, median Kendall CAD value near $599,000. It is in unincorporated Kendall County, not the City of Boerne, and is served by Water Control and Improvement District No. 3 — a taxing entity whose rate you must confirm.

Esperanza is where most of Boerne's new-construction demand has gone. Drive north off Highway 46 onto Esperanza Boulevard and you are in a master-planned community with landscaped entries, a big amenity center, and street names like Amarosa, Bandalero, Cantina Sky, and Buena Vista. It reads as a complete place rather than a phase of one, which is unusual for something still actively building.

The numbers

Kendall County Appraisal District parcel records show 1,608 platted parcels in Esperanza covering roughly 571 acres, with 1,182 of them already carrying an improvement (Kendall CAD GIS parcel layer, retrieved September 2026). Phases on the appraisal roll run from Phase 1 through Phase 4A, plus 2A, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3A, 3C, 3D and 3E — a lot of phases, which is what you would expect from a community marketed at roughly 1,700 acres at full build-out. The platted-and-appraised acreage above reflects what has actually been recorded so far, not the eventual footprint.

Lots are conventional suburban sizes: 10th percentile about 0.146 acres, median 0.206 acres, 90th percentile about 0.348 acres. Builders market these as 50-, 60- and 80-foot lot widths.

The current Kendall CAD appraisal roll shows a median market value near $599,000 for improved parcels, with the 10th percentile around $492,000 and the 90th around $791,000. Those are appraisal-district values, not list prices.

Housing stock

New construction from national and regional builders — Perry Homes, Lennar, Toll Brothers, Coventry, Chesmar, Highland, Scott Felder and Drees have all been active here at various points. That means floor plans, design centers, and incentives rather than custom architects. The tradeoff is predictability: you know what you are getting, and you can usually get it in under a year.

Because the community has built continuously for years, "new" in Esperanza can mean a 2018 resale on a matured lot or a 2026 spec with bare landscaping. Those are very different products at similar price points.

HOA and the tax question you must ask

The HOA is mandatory. The association is Esperanza Community Association, Inc., managed by Goodwin & Company (TREC management certificate, recorded Kendall County Instrument #354928, filed April 12, 2021). The association publishes CC&Rs by village at esperanzahoa.com, which is worth reading — the covenants vary between villages.

Do not trust a dues number you find on a listing aggregator. Published figures for Esperanza vary wildly across third-party sites, and Texas management certificates only disclose transfer-related fees, not the recurring assessment. Get the current assessment in writing from Goodwin & Company or the association before your option period expires.

The bigger money question is the utility district. Esperanza is served by Water Control and Improvement District No. 3, which the City of Boerne identifies by name in its own utility documentation as a customer of the City's wastewater collection system. A WCID is a taxing entity. That means an Esperanza tax bill can carry a district levy that a home inside Boerne's city limits with plain City utilities does not. Third-party sources put the combined effective rate meaningfully above 2.5%, but we have not verified the current district rate against the district's own filing, so treat that figure as unconfirmed and pull the actual rate before you underwrite a payment. This is the single most consequential line item on an Esperanza purchase and it is the one buyers most often miss.

Jurisdiction — not inside Boerne city limits

Kendall CAD parcel records show no city taxing unit on Esperanza parcels. The community is in unincorporated Kendall County, not inside the City of Boerne. Practically: county sheriff rather than Boerne PD, county permitting rules, and no city property tax — offset, as above, by the utility district.

Schools

Boerne ISD. A point inside the community returns Dr. Ferdinand L. Herff Elementary, Boerne Middle School North, and Boerne High School through Boerne ISD's own InfoFinder lookup (queried September 2026). Herff Elementary sits adjacent to the community, which is a genuine daily-life advantage.

One caution worth taking seriously: Boerne ISD opened Viola Wilson Elementary in August 2024 and redrew elementary boundaries at the same time, moving roughly 469 students. Any school-zone claim published before 2024 may be stale, and Esperanza is large enough that future phases could be zoned differently. Confirm your specific address through the district.

Location and commute

Esperanza's entrances feed onto Highway 46, and from there it is a short run into Boerne or out to I-10. The commute into San Antonio is real but ordinary by Hill Country standards — this is one of the closer-in master-planned options. Downtown Boerne and the Hill Country Mile are a drive, not a walk.

Amenities

The amenity package is the draw: resort-style pool, lazy river, splash pad, fitness center, dog park, pickleball, and a trail network. The community markets more than 20 miles of trails and 450-plus acres of open space at completion. Whether a given amenity is open yet depends on the phase — verify what is actually built versus rendered, particularly if you are buying in a newer phase.

Who it suits

It suits a buyer who wants a new house with a warranty, a full amenity package, a short drive to a top-rated elementary, and a Boerne address without a ranch-road commute. It suits families who will actually use a pool and a trail system.

It does not suit someone who wants acreage, privacy, or a mature tree canopy — lots are close together and much of the landscaping is young. It does not suit a buyer who wants the historic-Boerne character; this is suburban, and comfortable being so. And it does not suit anyone who has budgeted a payment without first confirming the WCID levy and the current HOA assessment.

Talk to someone who works this market

Heath Shepard is a licensed Texas REALTOR with Keller Williams, working Boerne, Fair Oaks Ranch, and Kendall County. If you want current Esperanza listings, help comparing a resale against a builder's spec, or a straight answer on what the total monthly carrying cost actually looks like here, reach out through theheathshepardrealestateteam.com.

Call or text 830-446-3847 · Email heath.shepard@kw.com