If you listen to the buzz, 2007 was not the best time to be in the real estate game.

But San Antonio?

Well, the Alamo city was – in the grand scheme of things – sittin’ pretty.

“2008 will see a shift from speculation to serious home purchasers” says Bob Leonard, Chairman of the Board of the San Antonio Board of Realtors (SABOR.)

“Real estate is like the weather – it’s all local.”

And locally, according to the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, the median home price in San Antonio went up six percent – to $150,100 —from 2006 to November 2007.

All that good news means folks are nesting in new ways, creating a style that is uniquely San Antonio.

Cathy Chesser, the owner of the San Antonio decorating store Me & My House, says that S.A. style is eclectic and warm – kind of like the city itself.

“You know, for San Antonio, my question for (people seeking design services) is are you leaning toward the Hill Country San Antonio, or are you thinking about our roots from Mexico? Everyone has a different opinion about what they think our look is. Our job is to question where they’re coming from and build that.”

Chesser says the color brown is big “mixed with whatever” and “on everything.”

Yes, everything. Upholstery, accessories, and even the home itself. “(We’re seeing) a lot of brown walls,” Chesser says. “For a long time, people were so afraid to put up dark color. But it’s big now. People are seeing how it warms up a room.”

Also popular in San Antonio’s trendiest homes is what Chesser calls the Hill Country look: yellow and white rock, big shutters, and “a little bit of German influence.”

The Tuscan look, which uses Old World style accessories and design elements that evoke European sensibilities, is still riding a wave of popularity in the region, Chesser says.

In this way, San Antonio mirrors the national market, according to Patricia Hart McMillan, an international designer who makes her home in San Antonio. “The old-world design elements, we see a lot of that,” she says. “It’s the Italian, Old World, Spanish feel.”

Big living areas – often a combined dining and living room – are part of that Tuscan trend, says designer Katharine Kaye McMillan. “There’s a definite trend to eliminate the separate living and dining rooms, because people don’t use them,” she says. Space for family to spread out together is key to the Old World feel that continues to be popular here, she says.

The McMillan mother-daughter duo, author of several titles including “Home Decorating for Dummies,” moved to San Antonio in June 2007, though both have longtime Texas connections. (Both attended college in the Lone Star State: Katharine at the University of Texas at Austin, and Patricia at Abilene Christian University.) Since then, “Pat and Kat” have, together and on their own, designed interiors, created commercial spaces, worked as design writers for top publications, and published a number of books, including the December 2007 release “DIY Painting for Dummies.”

“We’re design consultants, and we cover international trends,” Kat says. “We are busy defining the current San Antonio look.”

And, yes, she says, that look definitely includes the luxe-leather cowboy look that has launched a thousand leather sofas in the last few years. “I think there’s a real nod to the West,” Kat says. “This idea of the cowboy, we respect that.” That respect translates into San Antonio homes awash in leather, cowhide and suede, as well as accessories that rely on the warmth of burnished metal and wood.

So what does the dynamic duo think will be driving building and buying trends in 2008? At the top of the list, the “green” trend.

“I know there’s a lot of interest in green,” Pat says. “It’s a basic philosophy guiding design, buildings and furnishings.”

That trend encompasses some elements one might expect – low-VOC paint, energy-efficient windows, re-purposing furniture and accessories – and a few changes that might not be so obvious. Topping the list? Smaller homes.

It’s what Pat called “the not-so-big architectural design philosophy. “The size is changing,” Kat says. “Architects are talking about the downsizing of McMansions. These hotel-like houses are just too expensive to operate.”

And Pat expects the gated-community appeal to increase. “I used to hate the idea of gated communities,” she admits. “I thought, ‘Oh yuck, it’s so un-American, so un-democratic.’ But now, I think it gives one a sense of community, which is something people want. You know you have something in common with someone who wants to live the same way you do. It’s a sense of caring.”

That sense of home has spilled into the outdoors, Kat says. “As far as new houses go, we see a greater use of outdoor space,” she says. “That’s been the number one thing in the last couple of years.” Creating living areas on the porch, complete with “rugs, sofas, cool light fixtures ... the whole nine yards,” is a big trend, she says. “It doubles the entertaining space.”

Tim Clark is seeing that born out in his business as well. Clark works for Pool Concepts by Pete Ordaz, an area custom pool builder that is “selling more high-end items to average people now,” Clark says.

“San Antonio, as far as the nation goes, is going really well,” Clark says.

SABOR’s research backs Clark up: high-end touches are going to be great in ’08. Think “destination bathrooms” with Internet access, serving bars, and throne bathtubs. Expect hand-held devices that operate blinds, lights, and air conditioning. And behold pet showers.

So bottom line? The San Antonio style is about family and everything that entails: including pets, kids, and the spaces that make living with them possible.

That’s a multi-generational belief, says Pat McMillan. “We have noticed people here express, either overtly or in one way or another, that San Antonio is home. We’re meeting third- or fourth- generation residents who say, ‘This is our home.’ (The idea of leaving) is too remote to even consider.”

That commitment to community translates into comfy, cozy homes across the city, Chesser says. “We just want to stay home now with our families,” she says. “I think that will be around for a while.”