Austin News
Forbes: Austin best economic recovery in U.S.
Austin Business Journal
The Austin-Round Rock area tied for first on a list of large metros where the recession is easing.
Central Texas tied Washington D.C. in the Forbes.com ranking that compiles job growth and real estate industry improvement, among other indicators. Washington has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation, 6.2 percent, and the city produced more goods and services than another other in 2008.
Austin has also maintained relatively lower jobless rates, though the number increased to 7.6 percent last month from 7 percent, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Statewide, the rate was unchanged at 8.2 percent from December to January, compared to 9.7 percent nationally.
Austin and Washington D.C. also benefit from their high government job generation, according to Forbes. The number of Central Texas jobs increased just shy of 1 percent between 2007 and 2009, more than any other city included in the research.
Dallas came in second on the ranking behind Austin. The number of jobs there are expected to increase more than 7 percent in the next three years. San Antonio and Houston also made the top 10 list.
Job growth projections were based on information from Moody's. The listing also considered median home sale price changes and Metropolitan Gross Domestic Product.
Austin Area Tops Best Performing City Index - Nov 2009
The Austin-Round Rock area was named the best performing city on the 2009 Milken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners Best Performing Cities Index.
Killeen-Fort Hood-Temple, McAllen-Edinburg-Mission and Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown were second, fourth and fifth, respectively. Also, Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown was named one of the top five largest cities, and Midland was named the No. 1 small metro.
The index ranks U.S. metro areas based on their ability to create and sustain jobs, measuring employment, salary growth and technology output.
“Texas’ strong position in our best performing cities study demonstrates that a favorable business climate, combined with a low-cost/low-tax environment, is highly supportive of job creation,” said Ross DeVol, senior economist at the Milken Institute and lead author of the report. “The state has diversified its economy by fostering several key high-tech clusters, and the passage of Proposition 4, allocating $500 million in funding for research universities, will make Texas an even more formidable competitor in the future.”
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Market Health Indicator: 50.3
Even though it took a step backward during the last six months, Austin happens to be the only market on our list that is genuinely close to healthy. Home prices, which rose in 2008, finally declined this year—they are down 4.6% through September—as this Texas metro ended a long run of employment growth and lost some jobs. But its population has expanded by 4.3% during the first half of 2009, which should add housing demand and help firm up home pricing. It was the same story with Austin-area employment numbers, which remained in positive territory until mid-2009, when its manufacturing segment began losing jobs. Still, unemployment in this progressive city runs only about 7%, significantly below the national average. Dell Computer is Austin’s largest employer, with about 17,000 jobs. Austin continues to draw population, especially retirees, with its low cost of living, inexpensive housing, and warm-weather climate. The city had the third highest household growth rate in percentage terms among the top 100 market. Even so, permit activity fell by 38% during the first half of the year.
Busiest builders: D.R. Horton, Centex Homes, Pulte Homes, Lennar Homes, KB Home.
Courtesy: Hanley Wood Market Intelligence.
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