Best and Worst Bang for the Buck Cities
by Abha Bhattarai
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 provided by 
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Your money will go farthest in Austin. |
The economic storm sweeping the country has left Americans with few places to hide.
But those looking to hunker down might want to head to Texas, where they can get the best value for their dollar.
That's because Austin and San Antonio lead our list of places where your money goes farthest. Residents of both enjoy affordable housing and promising prospects for job growth in coming years. Houston and Dallas also land in the top 10, at Nos. 4 and 7, respectively.
"Texas, as a whole, is one of the few economies that's performing extremely well because of the energy and technology sectors," says Andrew Gledhill, an economist at Moody's Economy.com. Plus, he added, military bases in San Antonio have continued to draw a steady steam of personnel and federal employees to the city, spurring widespread job growth.
The state's manufacturing sector has also grown in recent years, and a reputation for affordable housing continues to lure people to the South. When accounting for median household income, a house in Dallas, for example--with a median price of about $150,000--is four times more affordable than a house in Los Angeles, the worst-ranked city on our list.
A house in New York is three times less affordable than in Charlotte, N.C., and four times less than in Denver, two cities where your money goes far and where the median house costs $245,000, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Housing has remained affordable in the South and Midwest, thanks to growing populations, relatively lax building regulations and "lots and lots of land," said Daniel McCue, a research analyst at Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies.
Plus, he added, housing in cities like Houston "grew at a more controlled pace and didn't go overboard like in Phoenix or Las Vegas," which means houses won't lose much value in coming months.
Three Midwestern cities round out the top 10: Indianapolis; Columbus, Ohio; and Minneapolis. The worst-ranked cities, after Los Angeles, were Providence, R.I.; New Orleans; Philadelphia; and Cleveland.
Behind the Numbers
To ensure that our list reflected future value instead of past bargains, we began by looking at projected job growth through 2012 in the 40 largest U.S.-Census-defined metropolitan areas of the country with data from Moody's Economy.com.
Texan cities were a clear winner, with economists predicting job growth of at least 2% by 2012 in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and Houston. By comparison, job growth in cities at the bottom of our list, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Cleveland, is expected to be about 0.2%.
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Los Angeles was the worst-ranked city. |
We then calculated the ratios between each city's median house price and median household income, using 2000 U.S. Census figures, the latest available, and 2007 data from the National Association of Realtors. Next, we compared median income to Moody's cost of living index.
Final factors included the average gas price in each city on a given day in October as collected by AAA, and year-over-year inflation growth as calculated by Moody's and Forbes.com.
Top Spots
The factors that make the cities on our list valuable--affordable housing, relatively low gas prices, sluggish inflation, a job market that's more vibrant than most--are more than an indication of cheap deals. Instead, they give us a glimpse of the cities that are likely to offer value. Cities like Detroit (which didn't make it to our list) are cheap, but low-income figures and a fading job market won't do much for sustaining worth.
The cities where you'll get the least value include areas like Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C., where median house prices are more than $400,000 and relatively few people can afford them. Cities like Providence, R.I., and Philadelphia are suffering from large waves of out-migration as more and more residents decide to pick up and leave. As a result, local economies stagnate, and prospects for job growth seem bleak--economists predict the number of jobs in Philadelphia will grow by 0.2% by 2012 and by 0.1% in Providence.
But, economists say, no state has been as hard hit as California.
"California is being faced with a combination of a zillion things--the state's been in a prolonged recession, and at the same time, you have some of the least affordable housing in the country,” says Gledhill. "We'll probably start seeing a bottom in the housing market late next year, but it'll be a while until we see a real recovery."
Los Angeles' misfortunes, however, have helped boost the economy in cities like Portland, Ore. It and Seattle have become attractive alternatives for those looking to leave California in search of affordable housing and lower costs of living.
The value of a dollar in different cities is also closely linked to local inflation rates. In Austin, for example, year-over-year inflation rates rose by 5%, while in Portland, that figure was nearly 5.7%. Local inflation rates ranged from 3.2% in St. Louis (No. 8 on the worst list) to 5.82% in Dallas (No. 7 on the best list).
But keep in mind, even cities that ranked well on our list aren't immune from the forces of today's downturn. Gledhill says economic growth in Portland, which has already begun to slow, will be compounded further by California's slowdown.
Things won't be much better in Columbus, according to Bodhi Ganguli, an economist at Moody's. So far, the city has weathered the storm better than its local counterparts. But he said, "an extremely high foreclosure rate" and bleak expectations for job growth will begin to take their toll on the city's economy.
Things may turn for those in Charlotte, which has fared relatively well so far. That's because housing prices never reached exorbitant highs, which shielded the city from a major housing bust.
But as the Charlotte-based Wachovia get swallowed by Wells Fargo, Gledhill says, "a more measured deterioration is on its way."
For more info on the Austin market contact Craig Ellmaker at 512-784-1494 o craig@ellmakerrealty.com
Filed under: Real Estate, Market Conditions, For Sale, Open Houses, Announcements, Events, Technology, Industry, Point2, Finances, Buyer Information, Seller Information, Austin, Texas Community Information
Hot job markets in a cooling economy
Texas has three of the hottest jobs markets, former leaders Phoenix, Las Vegas, others slip
bizjournals - September 8, 2008
The past year has been a rocky one for the U.S. economy.
The nation has seen 394,000 private-sector jobs slip away since mid-2007, equaling a loss of 7,570 jobs each week. The unemployment rate has shot up a full point during the same span -- from 4.7 percent at the halfway point of 2007 to 5.7 percent this year.
But a few sections of the country have managed to dodge this economic carnage. The most prominent exception is Texas, which is home to America's three hottest labor markets, according to a new bizjournals study.
Houston, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth are 1-2-3 in the latest employment rankings of the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas. The three Texas markets have added a total of 107,200 private-sector jobs since mid-2007, while keeping their unemployment rates below 5 percent.
Texas' impressive performance, ironically enough, is partially the result of higher energy costs, the same factor that has bedeviled much of the rest of the nation.
"The state's natural resources and mining industry, helped by higher oil prices, posted an annual employment growth rate of 6.4 percent from June 2007 to June 2008 and ranked first among Texas industries in employment-growth rate," said a midyear report from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
Texas also has been able to avoid the mortgage bubble that burst with devastating impact in other high-growth states such as California and Florida. A bizjournals study in March identified Houston as one of the nation's 10 most-affordable housing markets, with Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin close behind in 15th and 22nd place, respectively.
Bizjournals used a nine-part formula to analyze employment trends in the nation’s 100 largest labor markets. The formula was fueled by midyear data complied since 2003 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The 100 markets, taken collectively, contained 69 percent of the nation's 116.2 million private-sector jobs as of June 2008.
The top-rated labor market outside of Texas -- fourth in the overall standings -- is Raleigh. Its job base has ballooned by 22.1 percent since 2003, dwarfing the national five-year growth rate of 6.3 percent.
Seattle ranks fifth, largely because of its addition of 20,500 private-sector jobs since mid-2007. Only Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth have posted bigger gains during the past year. For employment profiles on these cities and the rest of the 10 hottest job markets, click here.
The recent volatility in the U.S. economy has shuffled the standings dramatically since they were last compiled a year ago. Phoenix, which was No. 1 in bizjournals' 2007 employment rankings, has dropped all the way to 28th place this year. Six of last year's 10 hottest markets have fallen out of the top 10 this year.
The bottom of the list is considerably more stable, though it does include a few surprises.
Last place belongs once again to Detroit, which has ranked as the coldest job market in America the past two years. The biggest problem remains Detroit's heavy reliance on domestic automakers, resulting in a loss of 30,800 jobs since mid-2007.
"Obviously, the Michigan economy has been dreadful this decade," said a recent report from Michigan Future Inc., a nonprofit group that aims to rejuvenate the state's economy. "An unprecedented seven consecutive years of job losses. At the bottom of the national rankings in both employment and per capita income. This is largely because the engine that still drives the Michigan economy is the troubled domestic auto industry."
The second-coldest labor market has suffered a dramatic decline the past couple of years. Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla., which was fourth-best in bizjournals' 2006 employment rankings, now sits in 99th place, a victim of Florida's real-estate woes. It has lost 11,400 jobs since mid-2007.
Other industrial markets among the coldest job markets include: Providence, Toledo, Lansing, Mich., and Dayton. All but Providence were also in the bottom 10 last year.
Study says Texas still top state for business
Austin Business Journal
The business climate in Texas is the best in the nation, according to a study by marketing company Development Counsellors International. In the poll of 281 corporate executives across the country, 40.8 percent of participants say Texas had the most favorable business climate -- an accolade the Lone Star State has held since 1999. Executives cited a strong labor market, low operating costs and a pro-business climate as factors in their decision. North Carolina ranked second, while Georgia was third, followed by Tennessee and Florida, which tied for fourth place. For the third consecutive year, California was viewed as the state with the least favorable business climate. New York, Michigan, New Jersey and Massachusetts rounded out the bottom five. "With the battle for business more intense than ever, states and their economic development organizations need to pay close attention to the results of this survey," DCI President Andrew Levine says in a statement. "Whether accurate or misguided, perceptions about a location's business climate often play a crucial role in site selection decisions and where companies invest money and create jobs." DCI says its survey was sent to a random selection of 3,591 U.S. companies with annual revenue of at least $25 million. The study is conducted every three years.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 - 11:35 AM CDT
Austin recession-proof?
Austin Business Journal
Austin was named third on the Forbes.com list of the top 10 "Recession-Proof Cities" in the United States.
To create the list, the magazine looked at the 50 largest U.S. metros, examining key measures, such as unemployment data, non-farm related job growth, median home prices and data from a 2007 report, "U.S. Metro Economies: The Mortgage Crisis" by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
At number three, Austin was right behind San Antonio, which grabbed the second spot thanks to solid employment figures and affordable home prices that continue to rise.
Oklahoma City took the No. 1 spot because of its strong housing market and solid growth in agriculture, energy and manufacturing.
For its part, Austin was lauded for being a hip town with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.
Forbes magazine's list of recession-proof cities also included: Houston, Dallas, Charlotte, N.C., Raleigh, N.C., Salt Lake City, San Jose, Calif. and Seattle.
Forbes says that Texas cities such as San Antonio, Austin, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth have benefitted from historically lower home prices, land availability and 'little zoning'.
All four Texas cities boast falling unemployment rates, according to Forbes, with Austin dropping from 3.8 percent to 3.6 percent.
Forbes.com
When your ready to buy, sell or invest in the Austin area please contact Craig Ellmaker, e-Pro Broker at 512-784-1494 or craig@austin-cashflow.com
Tourism takes off in Cedar Park
Written by Mark Collins Thursday, 17 April 2008
With big projects on the horizon, Cedar Park and Leander are beginning to explore tourism for the first time.
"We want a city of destination, and we are getting closer to that with the entertainment center," Cedar Park city council member Mitch Fuller said.
A city of destination uses a tourist feature to draw people from outside of the region and encourage them to stay in the city overnight.
"The primary goal for building an event center is the city council's desire to make Cedar Park a self-sustaining city where people can live, work and play," Cedar Park Communications Manager Melanie Carr said. "The event center will definitely offer our residents an entertainment option. Bringing in tourists will be a big perk."
The proposed water park would also be a large draw for tourists.
"The implications of a water park would be a tremendous boost for tourism," Carr said. "That would be something that would set us apart from most communities and would be a real reason why people would travel to, and spend the night, in Cedar Park."
Branding
The Cedar Park Tourism Advisory Board, a seven member team appointed by city council and charged with promoting tourism in the city, recently extended its contract with marketing firm Marketing Edge Ventures to continue its marketing strategy and branding campaign to advertise Cedar Park as a tourist destination.
"Our initial strategy was realizing that even though we didn't have a lot of typical tourist attractions, we have a whole lot coming that are very geared towards families," said Marketing Edge Ventures co-owner Amy Stevens. "Our strategy has been built around the slogan 'Cedar Park - where families come for fun.'"
That strategy included the launching of a new website, www.cedarparkfun.com. The site includes a listing of local events and downloadable trip itineraries with events in and around Cedar Park. The site is intended for travelers, but has proven to be a good resource for locals looking for activities as well.Branding, or making the Cedar Park name recognizable, is also an important part of what Marketing Edge Ventures does.
"I want to be really careful that we don't become 'that place northwest of Austin,'" Stevens said. "I want people to know it's called Cedar Park."
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Stevens used the city of Grapevine as an example of successful branding. Grapevine is nestled in the shadow of Ft. Worth and is lower in population than Cedar Park, yet the city is well known across the state for its water parks and hotels.
As part of the branding effort, the event center will bear Cedar Park's name. Hicks Cedar Park, the firm behind the event center, can sell the naming rights to the building, but the final name must include the words: Cedar Park.
"Tourism and marketing have been an area that hasn't had much attention in the past due to the lack of attractions, but both our Council and Tourism Advisory Board realize that this area will soon be of utmost importance," said Carr. "It's critical that we have a marketing strategy in place in order to handle the tourists we expect to start flooding our way when new attractions open."
Tourism in Leander
Leander has gotten its first taste of tourism in recent years by hosting the kite festival in March, car show in July and bluegrass festival in September. In only its third year, the bluegrass festival has garnered interest from out-of-state bands looking to participate. The kite festival, in its second year, had more than 600 citizens partake in the festivities.
"We're starting small and it's growing," Leander Parks and Recreation Director Steve Bosak said. "We try an event and if it is well received and we get good feedback, then we will continue it."
"When we first started <talking about> tourism, people laughed," Leander Chamber of Commerce President Mary Bradshaw said. "But we need to start thinking about this now because it's coming, and when it comes it will hit fast. We really need to start thinking about tourism and be prepared for it."
"There have been some hotel people nudging around for a while," Clennan said. "Lately <the developers> have been a little more serious. You can tell they are starting to have a lot more interest in the area."
Hotels are typically built in a city when it reaches a population of 30,000 to 32,000. Leander's current population is estimated to be a little more than 24,000.
"It would be nice to have something come in with a conference space," Clennan said. "It doesn't have to be huge, just enough room to host some events and get some people to stay the night."
Bradshaw is hoping Leander gets a place for tourists to stay. Money collected from the hotel occupancy tax would give the city it's first ever tourism budget.
"If we got a hotel, even if it was a 35-room Days Inn, we would start collecting some hotel tax money," Bradshaw said. "We could put together a brochure, have it distributed locally and eventually start shipping them in small quantities to all of the 12 welcome centers all over the state and that becomes huge."
Hotel Occupancy Tax
Tourism is funded primarily through the hotel occupancy tax, a tax levied on any traveler who pays for a room or space with a cost of $2 or more per day. The hotel tax rate is decided on by the city council and must pass before it can be charged.
In Cedar Park, the current hotel occupancy tax is seven percent.
Funds collected from the hotel occupancy tax are required by law to pass a two-part test before they are spent.
Marketing Edge Ventures is funded entirely by money from the hotel occupancy tax. Cedar Park also uses the money to fund advertisements, posters and banners to promote city events, and gives money to local organizations
How tourism is funded
Step 1: City council votes on a hotel occupancy tax rate. In Cedar Park that rate is seven percent. Leander does not have any hotels so it does not have a rate.
Step 2: Travelers who stay in a space costing $2 or more per night must pay the hotel occupancy tax.
Step 3: Hotels submit the hotel occupancy tax directly to the city once a month. The money goes into a seperate tourism account.
Step 4: The city spends money on flyers, promotions etc. to generate more tourism. Expenditures must, by law, pass a two-part test to be valid.
Two-part test for tourism spending
1: Every expenditure must directly enhance and promote tourism and the convention and hotel industry.
2: Every expenditure must clearly fit into one of six statutorily provided categories for expenditure of local hotel occupancy tax revenues.
Fund the establishment, improvement or maintenance of a convention center or visitor information center.
Paying the administrative costs for facilitating convention registration.
Paying for advertising, solicitations and promotions that attract tourists and convention delegates to the city or its vicinity.
Expenditures that promote the arts.
Funding historical restoration or preservation programs.
Funding costs in certain counties to hold sporting events that substantially increase hotel activity.
Contact Ellmaker Realty for more info at info@austin-cashflow or at 512-258-9899
By Ben Wear | Tuesday, April 22, 2008, 09:57 AM A consultant hired by the city is recommending a 14-mile light rail or "ultra-light rail" system for Central Austin, not streetcars as proposed earlier by Capital Metro, according to Austin City Council Member Brewster McCracken. The system would run from the airport to downtown, through the University of Texas and then east to the emerging Mueller development.The route is essentially the same one that McCracken and Austin Mayor Will Wynn have been talking about over the past six months or so. The proposal comes as a "transit task force" formed by Wynn and state Sen. Kirk Watson moves into the final stages of creating a "decision tree" to analyze rail proposals.
That group would almost surely analyze this proposal. But it is not clear if such an examination could occur quickly enough for the light rail proposal -- assuming it passes muster with the Wynn-Watson group and then the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization -- to be put before voters in November. Wynn has said he would like to have a rail election this year.
McCracken, at least, believes that the proposal can quickly make it through that gauntlet to a public vote in November.
"Yes, I think that's likely," he said.
The recommendation, to be released this evening at a community forum, will not include a specific cost estimate, McCracken said. However, McCracken said that the cost would be somewhere in the broad range between $5 million a mile and $30 million a mile, depending mostly on how many underground utility lines would have to be relocated for such a project. That would put it between $70 million and $420 million.
Those figures, he said, likely do not include the cost of the cars.
The diesel-powered cars Capital Metro has purchased for its "red line" commuter service from Leander to downtown, set to open in a few months, cost about $6 million apiece and the agency bought six of them to start with. But light rail cars typically cost less than that.
According to McCracken, the recommendation from the ROMA Design Group will propose putting double tracks (allowing travel in both directions simultaneously) from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and then heading west on Riverside Drive. The route would turn north at Congress Avenue (although there could be a spur to the parking-poor Long Center, McCracken said), cross the Ann Richards Bridge and then go through downtown either on Congress or San Jacinto Street.
Then it would pass through UT, turning east at Dean Keeton Street and going along Manor Road to the Mueller development.
A major criticism of the light rail plan that voters rejected in 2000 was that it would take street lanes away from car traffic. Not so, in this case, McCracken said, although the tracks would be in "dedicated lanes" segregated from cars. The space for the tracks, McCracken said, would come from available right of way on Riverside east of Interstate 35. Then, downtown, the tracks would run on pavement currently occupied by parked cars, he said.
The tracks, McCracken said, might take two lanes from the bridge over Lady Bird Lake, he said, although alternatively it could use the bridge space now taken up by sidewalks. In that case, a sidewalk alternative bridge, such as was added to the South First Street bridge, would continue pedestrian and bicycle access across the lake on Congress.
Light rail, as opposed to the commuter rail opening late this year or early next year, is generally powered by electricity and has a system or overhead wires that connect to devices on the top of the cars called "catenaries." Light rail cars run faster than streetcars, but at speeds comparable to the car traffic around them.
Although having dedicated lanes would spare the light rail cars from delay associated with car traffic, they would still have to stop for red lights on city streets.
Capital Metro officials have said they have no money left in the kitty to pay for more rail. So where would the money come from to build this?
McCracken said that ROMA will outline a funding scenario that includes taking about a quarter of Capital Metro's 1 percent sales tax (although the agency has indicated it needs it all for current bus and rail expenses), contributions from the city and other local government, from property taxes likely to be generated by new development along the line and potentially from airport bonds.
"We think it is possible to build this with no new taxes," McCracken said.
Austin gives preliminary OK to new zoning near rail stopsAustin Business Journal
The Austin City Council on April 10 gave preliminary approval for new zoning plans at future stops on the commuter rail, due to begin service this fall.
The plans, which must be voted on a second time before they are final, are for half-mile radius areas around future rail stations at Lamar Boulevard and Justin Lane (also known as Crestview Station), Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and at Plaza Saltillo in East Austin. Council members are expected to cast their final vote for the zoning in the coming weeks.
The station area plans were approved for transit-oriented development zoning creating denser, pedestrian-friendly zoning in those areas, many of them are currently zoned for commercial or industrial uses.
Several developers are signed up for TOD districts. Trammell Crow and Stratus Properties Inc. are partnering on a mixed-use development that will bring 1,000 homes and apartments to a 73-acre tract near the Crestview Station at North Lamar and Airport boulevards.
Former Dell Inc. executive Tom Meredith has signed on to develop a mixed-use project on 30 acres referred to as the Featherlite tract, between MLK Boulevard and 12th Street near the MLK rail station at Clifford Ave.
Other developers have expressed interest but held off commitments pending approval of the final TOD plans, says Sonya Lopez, a city senior planner.
Contact Ellmaker Realty at 512-258-9899 or info@ellmakerrealty.com for more info about whats going on in the Austin area.
Austin Business Journal
3/27/2008
Employment in the Austin area increased by 3.2 percent in the last year, according to the latest labor market figures.
The Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area had about 767,600 jobs as of February, that's 6,400 more than January and 24,100 more than in February 2007.
The local employment sectors showing the biggest increase in new jobs in the last 12 months were construction (5.1 percent), professional and business services (5.2 percent) and leisure and hospitality (5.3 percent).
The local unemployment rate stands at 3.6 percent, down from 3.8 percent a year ago.
Employers added about 235,000 new jobs across Texas in the last year, dropping the state's unemployment rate from 4.5 percent to 4.1 percent. That's a 2.3 percent increase in total Texas jobs over the 12-month period.
"Texas has once again reached a prominent benchmark - a more than 30-year record low for unemployment," says newly appointed Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Tom Pauken. "Our falling unemployment, coupled with this month's significant job gains, indicates the sustained health and vitality of the Texas economy."
Take Control: Where are the hot jobs?
Once again Austin, Texas proves to be untouchable compared to the rest of the nation!
ABC NEWS
March 12, 2008
Top 5 Cities to Find a Job:
1. Salt Lake City, Utah, tops the list in job growth with opportunities in nursing, education and banking.
2. Witchita, Kan., where aircraft and petroleum industries have bounced back and looking to hire for their production lines. There are also plenty of opportunities for health care workers.
3. Austin, Texas, is a vibrant and young city with an entrepreneurial spirit, so a good place to think about opening a small business. Also a wide range of career choices in technology.
4. Atlanta, Ga., is a hub for the financial and technology industries with positions in accounting, civil and electiral engineering and jobs at Fortune 500 companies like Coca Cola, UPS and Home Depot.
5. Fort Worth, Texas, with job opportunities in teaching, construction, even vision care products and air craft equipment.
Whether your ready to move to Austin or just want to invest, contact Ellmaker Realty!
http://www.austin-cashflow.com
Filed under: Real Estate, Market Conditions, Announcements, Events, Technology, Industry, Point2, Buyer Information, Seller Information, Austin, Texas Community Information
Entrepreneur.com
"Best and Worst Places to Buy a House"
23 January 2008
Best and Worst Places to Buy a House
Whether you're looking for an investment property or a place to live, here's a look at the cities you should seek out and avoid in 2008.
By Danielle Babb | January 23, 2008
The housing crunch and the excessive inventory--exceeding 10 months on resale homes--continues to take its toll on housing prices. But over the long term, housing is still a good investment. In fact, it's more than an investment; it's a home. Plus, you're not really saving anything by renting, as the costs of renting and owning are about equal (well, owning may be a little more). The tax benefits of home ownership far outweigh renting, too. With good housing prices in many great areas, this may indeed be the time to buy.
So now that I've convinced you this is a good time to buy a home, the next question is, Where do you buy one? No matter where you look, you should check out some basic economic fundamentals before buying. Is job growth stable in the area? Is income keeping up with inflation? Is crime above the national average? Is there a higher-than-average rate of foreclosures? These issues and others play a factor when deciding where to buy a house.
As a real estate investor and analyst, it's my job to provide buyers with qualified information on where to buy--and where to stay away from. Here are my thoughts for 2008 based on the indicators noted above.
Whether you're an investor like me or you're looking to purchase that next move up, here are my picks for the best areas to buy a home:
Killeen, Round Rock, Austin, Texas: (Leander is in the middle of all this activity, 26 miles NNW of Austin, 8 miles NNW of Round Rock and 50 miles SSW of Killeen) Killeen has the lowest average home price in any market in the nation while still maintaining quality. Round Rock and Austin have seen incredible job growth and very stable home prices despite the downturn nationwide. Jobs continue to grow here--a factor for keeping inventory low and prices stable.
Mission Viejo, California: Mission Viejo has the lowest crime statistics in the nation. With no murders in 2007 and a low rate of violent crime, this is a good place to raise a family. Prices are relatively stable, and the job market in the nearby cities of Irvine and San Diego means there is consistent demand from job seekers.
Palm Beach, Florida: I'm taking a risk here because this area has been pummeled by foreclosures in 2007. But there are also a lot of boomers retiring, and Palm Beach is looking mighty attractive. If you don't like this high of a risk (which translates to great prices), check out Tampa or Clearwater in the same state.
Las Vegas, Nevada: Yes, Las Vegas has been hit hard by incoming investors, who watched their home values disappear and then left those homes empty. Las Vegas comes in quite high on the national foreclosure list, almost always within the top three metro areas. But there's an upside--a very strong job market. In 2007, Las Vegas experienced a 12 percent increase in population, partly driven by retirees looking for Sunbelt states to move to. Coupled with low prices, we could see inventories reduced here, which would also stabilize prices. Be careful what you buy, but I like it.
Places to Avoid
And now for the places you definitely want to avoid:
Detroit, Michigan: The job market is in chaos. People are getting laid off left and right. National statistics seem to point to a significant problem with job loss and job income not keeping up with inflation. As a result, many nice neighborhoods are now abandoned due to people leaving their homes. Inventories exceed one year (under six months is what we want to see), and the foreclosure problem hit Detroit hard. With fewer jobs to support home purchases, I don't see Detroit turning around anytime soon.
Miami, Florida: Palm Beach is different than Miami, which sits in its gorgeous aqua water with half-built and abandoned condos, a shrinking job market, a tough time getting insurance against hurricanes and a job problem. Yes, you can get a good deal, but do this only if you don't need the appreciation from the home in the next decade.
Riverside/San Bernardino, California: Even those lucky homeowners that bought before the boom are feeling it now. Riverside and San Bernardino counties in Southern California consistently lead California in foreclosures and rank in the top three metro areas nationally. The prices have plummeted, and jobs in the area are scarce. People moved there due to lack of affordability in Orange and Los Angeles counties (where their jobs were), so it's a commuter's area. Now that prices in the two counties have dropped, people can live close to their jobs. Although I grew up in Riverside County, I could never recommend it to anyone looking to buy a home.
Contact Ellmaker Realty at 512-258-9899 or email at info@austin-cashflow.com for more info.
TEXAS ECONOMY FARING BETTER IN ECONOMIC STORM
Austin Business Journal
The Texas economy likely will avoid many of the economic woes experienced in other parts of the country, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' publication, Southwest Economy.
The state will experience below-average economic growth in 2008, but it will still outpace the nation, economist Fiona Sigalla says in an article titled "Texas Finds Cover From U.S. Economic Storm." Job growth in Texas should run near 2 percent in 2008.
"A Texas recession isn't in the forecast," Sigalla says. "A relatively low cost of living continues to attract firms and residents to the state, and an economy that is more globally integrated than in other states boosts demand for Texas products and services."
Texas is also one of the few states that benefits from high energy prices, Sigalla says, plus, construction doesn't appear to be too far ahead of demand.
Austin economy spanks the competition
Austin Business Journal
Thursday, January 31, 2008
High-tech, a booming film industry and the University of Texas all helped propel Austin to the top of Forbes' 2008 list of America's Fastest Growing Metros.
The magazine ranked Austin No. 1 among the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas. The list sorted cities by their anticipated gross domestic product growth between 2007 and 2012. Austin's GMP, or the value of goods and services produced in the area, is expected to climb 32 percent over the five-year period.
Forbes credits the local boom to high-tech employers like Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) as well as the University of Texas, which is producing ample engineering talent.
Other cities that ranked high on the list include Atlanta, Seattle, Orlando, Houston and San Jose, Calif. The Forbes article points out that all of those cities share several key characteristics with Austin: They are tech hubs in close proximity to universities with growing population bases.
Forbes used GMP forecasts provided by Moody's Economy.com.
The regions of the country with the fastest growing metro areas overall are the Southeast and West. Forbes credits the lower costs of living and doing business in those areas for their higher anticipated performance.
Home prices jump almost 10%
Austin Business Journal
Friday, November 30, 2007
Home sales in the Austin market may be down, but the value of local residential real estate continues to rise faster than in most other markets around the country.
A quarterly index report released this week by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight shows that Austin-area home prices rose 9.6 percent between September 2006 and September 2007. The report ranks the market No. 7 in the country in terms of year-over-year price appreciation.
The price appreciation comes at the same time Austin is feeling the effects of the credit market crunch. According to the most recent report from the Austin Board of Realtors, total home sales declined 15 percent in October compared with October 2006. Sales year-to-date were down 6 percent. Experts say most of the reduction is coming from the entry-level home market where subprime mortgages have all but dried up.
Three of the top five markets with the highest appreciation were in Utah, according to the OFHEO report. The top five markets in order are: Wenatchee, Wash. (15 percent); Provo-Orem, Utah (14.3 percent); Grand Junction, Colo. (14 percent); Ogden-Clearfield, Utah (13.9 percent); and Salt Lake City, Utah (13.3 percent).
The report also indicates that home prices in Austin have appreciated 28.8 percent in the last five years.
Though the report bodes well for Austin, the national picture is not so rosy. For the first time in nearly 13 years, U.S. home prices experienced a quarterly decline, down 0.4 percent in the third quarter compared with the second quarter of 2007. The annual price change, comparing the third quarter of 2007 to the same period last year, showed an increase of 1.8 percent, the lowest four-quarter increase since 1995.
"While select markets still maintain robust rates of appreciation, our newest data show price weakening in a very significant portion of the country," says James Lockhart, director of OFHEO. "Indeed, in the third quarter, more than 20 states experienced price declines and, in some cases, those declines are substantial."
"Right Now is a Buyers Market "
The Fed cut the federal funds rate to 4.5 percent today. How will this affect your finances?
"If you're looking at refinancing, it makes sense to do it now. Its one of those things that's a no-brainer"
A few good articles in the link below!
http://www.bankrate.com/nltrack/news/fed/fedwatch.asp?ec_id=brmint_ns_fedwatch_20071031
UT residential tower breaks ground
Austin Business Journal - 3:09 PM CDT Wednesday, September 19, 2007
A groundbreaking event was held today for 21 Rio, the 158-unit high-rise apartment development going up near the University of Texas campus.
At 21 stories, the project at Rio Grande and 21st Street will be the tallest in the West Campus area. The $44 million development will have one, two and three-bedroom units as well as about 4,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The developer, Cobalt Land Development Ltd., say the first occupants should be able to move in as early as spring 2009.
More than 100 people attended today's groundbreaking, including Austin Mayor Will Wynn, who lauded the project team for creating a dense, high-rise that will house a significant number of students.
"Whether the challenge is traffic or public safety or carbon emissions from vehicles and/or electricity generation that are causing global warming, the answer is to get a lot more people living a lot closer to where they work, shop, play, worship--and yes, go to school," says Wynn. "We need to replicate the 21 Rio model throughout West Campus and bring students back to the university area"
In 2004, the city of Austin approved the University Neighborhood Overlay, which allows for a total height of 175 feet in a limited part of West Campus. A variance was granted in February 2006 for 21 Rio to increase the height for this site to 220 feet. That enabled Cobalt to increase the number of units included in the plan.
Merriman Associates Architects designed the building.
Contact Ellmaker Realty for more info at 512-258-9899