A new study from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University explains why Texas’ housing market fared far better than other states during the current downturn. It also suggests why the state’s economy is expected to continue to do better than the rest of the nation in the coming months.
“Texas’ lower-than-national-average housing cost is one reason for the state’s higher-than-national-average growth rate,” said Dr. Ali Anari, a Center research economist and one of the study’s authors. “When Texans are able to spend more on nonhousing goods and services, the state’s economy is strengthened and more people attracted.
“These results illustrate one of the key reasons the Texas economy outperforms the United States in terms of job growth almost every year,” said Center Chief Economist Dr. Mark Dotzour. “The fact that Texans pay less of their income for housing means they have more to spend on other things that add to the overall quality of life. Texas offers a lower cost of living than many places in the United States.
“This allows Texas employers to be able to attract workers at a reasonable wage rate that allows them to compete successfully in the global economy,” said Dotzour.
Since 1987, the average annual expenditure for shelter per consumer increased in every major American metropolitan market.
Texas data for the study came from the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston-Galveston-Brazoria metro areas because they are among the major metropolitan areas for which consumer expenditure data are available. These two metros accounted for 60.3 percent of Texas labor force last year and 64 percent of Texas GDP the previous year.
“Houston and Dallas consumers spent the smallest shares of their incomes on shelter in 2008 (18.6 percent),” said Anari.
The two Texas metros in the study had virtually no increase in their shelter expenditure shares from 1987 to 2008. Houston’s share rose 1 percent while Dallas’ share increased 2.2 percent.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Austin 3rd best city to relocate to
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Austin Business Journal
Austin was ranked the third best city to move to in the United States, according to a RelocateAmerica.com report.
The relocating resources website listed Austin just behind Huntsville, Ala. and Washington D.C. for overall best place to move. Those listed were nominated by RelocateAmerica.com users and then selected by the site's editorial team. The company also analyzed reviews, interviewed residents and looked at economic, environmental, education, crime, employment and housing data.
The Texas State capital took the No. 2 spot on the "America's Top 100 Places to Live for 2010" report for recovery, among others less impacted by recession and therefore expecting a swift recovery. Huntsville, Ala. was ranked first on that list.
Austin was also listed as the fifth-best "earth-friendly" location behind Portland, Ore. (No. 1); Boston, Mass. (No. 2); Madison, Wis. (No. 3); and Boulder, Colo. (No. 4).
Austin Business Journal
Austin was ranked the third best city to move to in the United States, according to a RelocateAmerica.com report.
The relocating resources website listed Austin just behind Huntsville, Ala. and Washington D.C. for overall best place to move. Those listed were nominated by RelocateAmerica.com users and then selected by the site's editorial team. The company also analyzed reviews, interviewed residents and looked at economic, environmental, education, crime, employment and housing data.
The Texas State capital took the No. 2 spot on the "America's Top 100 Places to Live for 2010" report for recovery, among others less impacted by recession and therefore expecting a swift recovery. Huntsville, Ala. was ranked first on that list.
Austin was also listed as the fifth-best "earth-friendly" location behind Portland, Ore. (No. 1); Boston, Mass. (No. 2); Madison, Wis. (No. 3); and Boulder, Colo. (No. 4).
Sunday, April 18, 2010
AUSTIN FORECLOSURE FILINGS DOWN, MARKET EXPERT CAUTIOUS
AUSTIN (Foreclosure Listing Service Inc.) – Foreclosure filings in the Austin area fell 22 percent over the past month, dropping from 1,451 to 1,139, according to Foreclosure Listing Service Inc. (FLS).
"This decline is welcomed news, but I must warn that one month's activity does not change a long-established trend," said George Roddy Sr., FLS president. "Foreclosure postings have been on the high end for some time now. In fact, for the past 16 consecutive months, posting activity has topped 1,000 each month in the Austin metro."
Roddy added that Uncle Sam might have played a role in the drop in filings.
"In six of the last ten years, Travis County foreclosure posting activity for May has been less than in April," he said. "I suspect that as some families have received an IRS tax refund, they have applied that toward their delinquent mortgages to save their homes."
Roddy said a more important factor to watch than month-to-month activity is the same month comparison from one year to the next.
"Over the last year, May's foreclosure posting activity in the Austin Metro dropped 11 percent," he said. "This was the first time in 28 successive months that same-month-to-same-month posting activity declined. Now, this is definitely welcomed news, but even it does not warrant a happy dance. I will be looking for declines for six months in a row for the long-term trend to truly change.”
"This decline is welcomed news, but I must warn that one month's activity does not change a long-established trend," said George Roddy Sr., FLS president. "Foreclosure postings have been on the high end for some time now. In fact, for the past 16 consecutive months, posting activity has topped 1,000 each month in the Austin metro."
Roddy added that Uncle Sam might have played a role in the drop in filings.
"In six of the last ten years, Travis County foreclosure posting activity for May has been less than in April," he said. "I suspect that as some families have received an IRS tax refund, they have applied that toward their delinquent mortgages to save their homes."
Roddy said a more important factor to watch than month-to-month activity is the same month comparison from one year to the next.
"Over the last year, May's foreclosure posting activity in the Austin Metro dropped 11 percent," he said. "This was the first time in 28 successive months that same-month-to-same-month posting activity declined. Now, this is definitely welcomed news, but even it does not warrant a happy dance. I will be looking for declines for six months in a row for the long-term trend to truly change.”
Friday, April 16, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Homebuyers Still Buying As Interest Rates Rise
Wednesday, April 7, 2010, 10:09am CDT
Austin Business Journal
Increasing mortgage rates haven't seem to deter homebuyers racing to meet the soon-to-expire tax credit.
While the number of refinance applications fell as mortgage rates hit their highest level since August, requests for home purchase loans were steady, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The purchase index rose half a percent from the week before, but was still down 18.1 percent from a year earlier. The increase pushed the share of government purchase applications to 49.9 percent of total applications, its highest share in more than 20 years, according to the bankers' group.
The Austin Board of Realtors said home sales here increased 4 percent year-over-year in February, its most recent statistical period, and properties are spending less time on the market.
The national Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume, fell 11 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending April 2, compared with the previous week.
"Mortgage rates jumped last week as the Federal Reserve completed their purchases of mortgage-backed securities," said Michael Fratantoni, the association's vice president of research and economics.
Refinance activity fell to 58.7 percent of total mortgage applications from 63.2 percent. That’s the lowest observed in the survey since the week ended Aug. 28, 2009, according to the association.
The average interest rate for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.31 percent from 5.04 percent, the highest 30-year rate recorded in the survey since the first week of August 2009.
The average interest rate for 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.54 percent from 4.34 percent.
The average interest rate for one-year adjustable-rate mortgages increased to 7.03 percent from 6.88 percent.
Austin Business Journal
Increasing mortgage rates haven't seem to deter homebuyers racing to meet the soon-to-expire tax credit.
While the number of refinance applications fell as mortgage rates hit their highest level since August, requests for home purchase loans were steady, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The purchase index rose half a percent from the week before, but was still down 18.1 percent from a year earlier. The increase pushed the share of government purchase applications to 49.9 percent of total applications, its highest share in more than 20 years, according to the bankers' group.
The Austin Board of Realtors said home sales here increased 4 percent year-over-year in February, its most recent statistical period, and properties are spending less time on the market.
The national Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume, fell 11 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending April 2, compared with the previous week.
"Mortgage rates jumped last week as the Federal Reserve completed their purchases of mortgage-backed securities," said Michael Fratantoni, the association's vice president of research and economics.
Refinance activity fell to 58.7 percent of total mortgage applications from 63.2 percent. That’s the lowest observed in the survey since the week ended Aug. 28, 2009, according to the association.
The average interest rate for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.31 percent from 5.04 percent, the highest 30-year rate recorded in the survey since the first week of August 2009.
The average interest rate for 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.54 percent from 4.34 percent.
The average interest rate for one-year adjustable-rate mortgages increased to 7.03 percent from 6.88 percent.
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