WE BOUGHT A RESORT

$7M Hill Country yurt resort to be raffled off for just $10 per ticket

Each yurt at the Yurtopian Hill Country Resort has a deck and private hot tub.

Photo courtesy of Yurtopian Hill Country Resort.

Always dreamed about owning your own piece of the Hill Country? A Texas couple is raffling off their luxury $7 million Yurtopian Hill Country Resort in Dripping Springs through a British platform that allows locals to enter for $10 or less.

"After 20-plus years of traveling the globe, we fell in love with the majestic Texas Hill Country and set out to create something truly special — a peaceful oasis that merges authentic yurt living with refined comfort. We couldn't be more thrilled to share our slice of paradise and the chance to carry that dream forward through this initiative," said owners Ann-Tyler and Brian Konradi in a release.

Check out the views from one of 10 rooftop decks.Photo courtesy of Yurtopian Hill Country Resort.

The Konradis first started the resort in 2019 with a single Mongolian yurt in Wimberley, before growing their collection of tents and opening a second compound in Dripping Springs. The 46-acre property is packed with amenities that one lucky winner can turn into a turnkey business, a hippie commune, or an instant way to make more friends. The features include:

10 private rental accommodations
A 2,000-square-foot home and office
3 barns with potential for events or expansion
A wellness spa structure
A meandering creek

The boho yurts hug the treeline and are outfitted with king-size beds, private bathrooms, rooftop decks, private hot tubs, fire pits, and outdoor kitchens. Each is not exactly a suite at the Four Seasons, but it's a far cry from roughing it.

The property also includes a rustic main hoouse.Photo courtesy of Yurtopian Hill Country Resort.

According to the release, the contest is the first real estate transaction of its kind in the United States, which has tight restrictions on raffles depending on the state. The Konradis are partnering with popular British platform Raffal for the initiative, which is why the ticket price is in pounds, not dollars.

The raffle is subject to rules and regulations and is only available in jurisdictions where participation is allowed. And there is a threshold of 848,500 qualifying entries for the main prize to be awarded. As of the afternoon of Monday, July 21, about 5,300 tickets had been issued. Naturally, the drawing comes with enough legalese to give anyone a migraine, but, c'mon, it's a nearly free resort.

The lucky winner will be announced live and online on September 30, from the Glamping Show Americas in Colorado, in partnership with the American Glamping Association. Through a clause built into the raffle contract, no existing reservations of the tents will be affected.

Photo courtesy of Yurtopian Hill Country Resort.

Each yurt at the Yurtopian Hill Country Resort has a deck and private hot tub.

resorts glamping tents hill country dripping springs yurts raffles giveaways

Bang for Buck

Surprising suburb unlocks biggest apartments in Houston for $1,500

Photo by Matt Halls on Unsplash

Pasadena has the 6th roomiest apartments on a budget in Texas.

Budget-conscious renters searching for the roomiest apartments in the region should look no further than Pasadena. According to a new study, the east Houston suburb has the biggest apartments on a budget in the metro.

In 2026, Pasadena residents can rent a 1,125-square-foot apartment for $1,500 per month. That's enough space for a two- or three-bedroom unit, and it's four square feet bigger than what renters could get with the same budget last year.

RentCafe's annual report analyzes the places where renters can find the largest apartment sizes across 200 of the most populous U.S. cities for a monthly budget of $1,500. The price per square foot was calculated using the average apartment rent and size per city based on "multifamily properties" containing 50 or more units.

Pasadena offers the 6th most spacious apartments in Texas for $1,500, and Houston ranks 11th statewide.

Renters in Houston proper will net a 976-square-foot apartment for the same price in 2026, a size that has shrunk by more than 20 square feet since 2023.

Apartment sizes across Texas
For the second year in a row, the Rio Grande Valley is the region that has the most spacious apartments for a $1,500 monthly budget, RentCafe found.

McAllen leads the nation with the biggest apartment size – at 1,378 square feet – which is large enough for a three- or four-bedroom unit.

"With rents averaging just $993 and the typical apartment measuring 912 square feet, McAllen renters get a lot more space for their money than most Americans do within that monthly budget," the report said. "Still, that figure is down slightly from last year’s 1,393 square feet — a sign that even the most affordable markets are starting to tighten."

Brownsville, another city on the border located an hour east of McAllen, ranks fourth statewide with apartments spanning 1,213 square feet for the same budget.

These are the top 10 Texas cities that offer the biggest apartments for $1,500 in 2026:

No. 1 – McAllen (1,378 square feet)
No. 2 – Amarillo (1,237 square feet)
No. 3 – Lubbock (1,217 square feet)
No. 4 – Brownsville (1,213 square feet)
No. 5 – El Paso (1,128 square feet)
No. 6 – Pasadena (1,125 square feet)
No. 7 – Corpus Christi (1,115 square feet)
No. 8 – Killeen (1,058 square feet)
No. 9 – San Antonio (1,023 square feet)
No. 10 – Mesquite (988 square feet)

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