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Texas Economy Still Robust
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5 Comments ::  :: Market Analysis, Investment |
| Texas Economy Still Robust Texas Real Estate Center: The Texas economy continues to surpass the nation’s in employment growth rate and job creation. According to Research Economist Ali Anari, Texas total nonfarm employment rose 2.2 percent from September 2005 to September 2006 compared with 1.3 percent for the United States. Laredo ranked first among the state’s 26 metro areas in annual employment growth rate during the period at 5.5 percent, followed by McAllen-Edinburg-Pharr (5.2 percent), Midland (4.6 percent) and Sherman-Denison (3.6 percent). Texas’ construction industry ranked first in job creation with 36,800 new jobs, followed by the natural resources and mining industry (10,800), professional and business services industry (47,600), and the financial activities industry (18,800). The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined to 4.8 percent in September 2006, just slightly higher than the 4.6 percent U.S. rate. Midland had the lowest unemployment rate (3.3 percent) in the state in September 2006, followed by Amarillo (3.6 percent), College Station–Bryan (3.7 percent) and Austin–Round Rock (3.8 percent). For more information, see the full report at http://recenter.tamu.edu/econ/. |
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By
Texas Admin @
Friday, November 17, 2006 1:09 PM |
Home Builder Confidence Rises Again
Home builders’ confidence has improved for the second straight month.
The National Association of Home Builders says its members’ confidence in the housing market had fallen for eight months in a row to a 15-year low of 30 in September.
But beginning last month, the index went up again to 31 in October and 33 in November. The index peaked at 72 in June 2005 and was at 61 this time last year.
"More and more builders are seeing light at the end of the tunnel," says David Pressly, president of the NAHB and a builder based in Statesville, N.C. "Our members are telling us that the market is steadying after a significant downward correction. We look for sales to stabilize and gradually move up in the coming months."
Robert Brusca, chief economist for FAO Economics, agrees. "The data tell us that the worst of housing is behind us," Brusca says.
Source: Dow Jones Business News, Rex Nutting |
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By
Texas Admin @
Friday, November 17, 2006 10:13 PM |
Survey: Consumers confident home prices will rise. Housing market outlook brighter by mid-2007.
Americans remain highly confident about the nation's housing prospects, with more than four out of five homeowners expecting the value of their home to appreciate over the next five years and nearly seven out of 10 calling it their most valuable investment, according to results from a new nationwide survey.
"The poll clearly debunks the more sensational media reports speculating on the demise of the housing market," said David Pressly, president of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Statesville, N.C. "It is interesting to note that other polls conducted by major news organizations have come up with similar results, indicating that despite the current housing market downturn Americans resoundingly believe that buying a home is the best investment they can ever make."
The survey of 2,000 households, including more than 1,750 registered voters, was conducted by RT Strategies between Oct. 26-29.
The polling found that 81 percent of homeowners believe that the value of their homes will rise over the next five years. Only 13 percent felt their home would fall in value, while 4 percent expected no change and 3 percent were unsure.
In addition, 69 percent of the respondents listed their home as their most valuable investment. By contrast, this was followed by 401(k) and other retirement accounts, with just 11 percent of those polled citing this as their top investment.
Looking ahead, NAHB said the housing market is poised for solid and sustained growth in the future.
"We are in the midst of an inevitable adjustment following the housing boom of 2004-2005 when housing market activity soared to unsustainable levels," said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. "Housing demand should stabilize in short order, and the downward adjustment to housing production should run its course by mid-2007.
The market that emerges from this correction will display good balance between supply and demand, and move to a healthy and sustainable trend based on solid underlying fundamentals." |
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By
Texas Admin @
Tuesday, November 21, 2006 5:18 PM |
TEXAS HOME PRICES UP IN THIRD QUARTER
DALLAS (Dallas Morning News) – All of the Texas cities tracked in a recent survey by the National Association of Realtors had increases in home prices in third quarter 2006. Statewide prices were up 8.6 percent, one of the largest such increases in the country.
The biggest jump was in El Paso, which was up 14.3 percent. Meanwhile, Austin had the highest median price in the state at $175,500.
The rest of the United States saw a 1.2 percent drop in median home prices, with home prices falling in 45 of the almost 150 markets tracked in the survey. |
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By
Kenya Romero @
Monday, November 27, 2006 12:28 AM |
Hot Stats—Texas Exports November 2006
Inflation adjusted Texas exports grew at a healthy pace in third quarter 2006, rising 3.6 percent. The increase marked the fourth successive quarter of export growth. When compared with a year ago, real exports are up a solid 15.1 percent. |
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By
Kenya Romero @
Monday, November 27, 2006 1:41 PM |
Home sales gaining in Texas, despite national drop.
A 0.4 percent increase was posted in the South, while sales were down in the rest of the country.
Austin, Houston and San Antonio are a few of the major Texas markets that are going against the national trend, while Dallas sales have been down for six months out of this year.
A lukewarm housing market is being documented by the median sales price dropping by the largest amount on record and the sales of existing homes falling for the sixth straight month.
The single-family-homes sales have dropped to an annual rate of 5.42 million units (by 1.6%) and the sale of condominiums has dropped by 3.2% to an annual rate of 763,000 units.
The median price of a single-family home fell to $219,800, a drop of 2.5 percent from September 2005. That was the biggest year-over-year decline in records going back almost four decades.
After five years of a record market, housing has been rapidly losing altitude this year, as rising energy prices and a slowing economy hit consumers.
However, some economists said they thought the national housing decline could be hitting bottom.
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