Texas Home Starts Rising
At least four large Texas cities had increases in the number of home starts during third quarter 2011, according to the latest findings from housing research firm Metrostudy.
Home starts increased 30 percent over the same quarter last year in Austin, 20 percent in Houston, 6 percent in Dallas and 3 percent in San Antonio.
Jack Inselmann, vice president of the U.S. Central Division of Metrostudy, told the San Antonio Express-News that he expected Alamo City home starts to increase 15 to 20 percent during the quarter but also said “we’re in good shape.”
Currently, the area has 1,206 completed vacant homes on the market, down from 1,349 in the second quarter.
Source: San Antonio Express-News
Read MoreTexas Cranking Out Jobs – Double The Nation’s Average!
Texas was responsible for 19.4 percent of the total jobs created nationwide from September 2010 to September 2011, according to the Real Estate Center’s latest Monthly Review of the Texas Economy.
Texas gained 248,800 nonfarm jobs during the period, an annual growth rate of 2.4 percent compared with 1.1 percent for the United States.
The state’s private sector added 281,400 jobs, an annual growth rate of 3.3 percent compared with 1.7 percent for the nation’s private sector.
Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 8.5 percent in September 2011 from 8.2 in September 2010. The nation’s rate decreased from 9.6 to 9.1 percent.
All industries except the information industry and the state’s government sector had more jobs in September 2011 than in September 2010. The state’s mining and logging industry ranked first in job creation, followed by construction and the professional and business services industry.
All Texas metro areas except Abilene, Wichita Falls and Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood had more jobs in September 2011 than in September 2010. Victoria ranked first in job creation, followed by Corpus Christi, Laredo, Odessa and College Station-Bryan.
The state’s actual unemployment rate in September 2011 was 8.4 percent. Midland had the lowest rate followed by Amarillo, Odessa, College Station-Bryan and Lubbock.
The report was written by Research Economist Dr. Ali Anari and Chief Economist Dr. Mark Dotzour.
Source: Real Estate Center
Read MoreMortgage Rates Continue to Fall
After hitting record lows last week, the average rates on 30- and 15-year fixed mortgages dropped again.
According to Freddie Mac, the rate on a 30-year mortgage fell from 4.01 last week to 3.94 percent this week.
Meanwhile, the average rate on a 15-year fixed loan fell from 3.28 to 3.26 percent.
Source: Associated Press
Read MoreTexas Job Creation Outpaces U.S.
Texas continues to outperform the United States in job creation according to the Real Estate Center’s latest Monthly Review of the Texas Economy.
The state gained 271,400 nonfarm jobs from August 2010 to August 2011, an annual growth rate of 2.6 percent compared with 1 percent for the United States. Texas jobs created during that period accounted for 21.1 percent of nonfarm jobs created in the nation.
The state’s private sector grew by 284,200 jobs (3.3 percent) compared with 1.6 percent for the U.S. private sector.
Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 8.5 percent in August 2011 from 8.3 a year earlier. The nation’s rate decreased from 9.5 to 9.1 percent.
All Texas industries except the information industry and the state’s government sector had more jobs in August 2011 than in August 2010. The state’s mining and logging industry ranked first in job creation followed by the construction, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality industries.
All Texas metro areas except Abilene and Texarkana had more jobs in August 2011 than a year earlier. Victoria ranked first in job creation, followed by Odessa, Lubbock, McAllen-Edinburg-Mission and Midland.
The report was written by Research Economist Dr. Ali Anari and Chief Economist Dr. Mark Dotzour.
Source: Real Estate Center
Read MoreTexas First in Business Climate Survey
Texas boasts the best business climate in the country, according to a new survey of U.S. corporate executives conducted by Development Counsellors International (DCI). It was the fifth consecutive time the Lone Star State has ranked first in the survey.
DCI said Texas was the ”clear-cut favorite” among the 322 survey respondents, with 49.4 percent identifying the state as having the most favorable business climate.
The corporate decision-makers who named Texas as having the most favorable business climate most frequently cited “tax climate” (44 percent), “pro-business climate” (31 percent) and “economic development support/incentives” (15 percent) as reasons for their positive perceptions.
Coming in behind Texas was North Carolina at a distant 27.8 percent, South Carolina with 14.3 percent, Florida with 13.9 percent and Tennessee with 13.5 percent.
Conducted every three years, DCI’s “Winning Strategies in Economic Development Marketing” survey has tracked trends in economic development since its inception in 1996.
Source: Development Counsellors International
Read MoreTexas’ Can-Do Attitude
Newsweek has spotlighted what it refers to as “America’s 20 Can-Do Capitals,” and five Texas cities made the cut.
The magazine looked at the 200 largest U.S. cities to see how they are progressing in the areas of business growth, sustainability, livability, and transportation and infrastructure. Each city was able to receive up to 25 points in each of these four categories, for a total of 100.
Texas fared very well.
Topping the list was El Paso with a score of 71.4. San Antonio ranked fourth with 61.6, Austin tenth with 59.4, Dallas thirteenth with 58.5, and Fort Worth fourteenth with 58.1.
Newsweek provides a breakdown of the scores and a detailed explanation of how the cities were judged in each category.
Source: Newsweek
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