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        <title>Austin Real Estate Blog</title>
        <link>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/tags/economy/</link>
        <description>Austin Real Estate Blog - Cantera Real Estate - This multi-author blog covers the local Austin, Texas real estate market, housing trends, new developments, new MLS listings, Austin area news, and relocation info.</description>
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            <guid>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/the-texaplex-austin-dallas-houston-and-san-antonio.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/the-texaplex-austin-dallas-houston-and-san-antonio.html</link>
            <author>jim@jimolenbush.com (Jim Olenbush)</author>
            <title>The Texaplex - Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio </title>
            <categories>austin-area-info</categories>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
David Winans is real estate broker in Dallas, Texas who coined the term &quot;Texaplex&quot; to describe the region encompassing Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston.  David has released a new video highlighting all of the great economic news coming from the Texaplex region.

  



&nbsp;

The TexaPlex Project 

David Winans &amp; Associates

&nbsp;



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            <pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:43:05 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/texaplex-region-considered-to-be-a-leader-in-nations-economic-recovery.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/texaplex-region-considered-to-be-a-leader-in-nations-economic-recovery.html</link>
            <author>brink@canterarealestate.com (James Brinkman)</author>
            <title>Texaplex Region Considered to be a Leader in Nation</title>
            <categories>austin-news</categories>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
According to Newsweek magazine, the &ldquo;Texaplex&rdquo; of Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and Houston is among the top ten regions in the country in terms of being poised for an economic recovery. This is largely due to the fact that the Texas metros have a strong energy sector as well as a strong entrepreneurial spirit.

In addition to having a strong energy sector, the Newsweek article found that the state of Texas is also an attractive market for those businesses that are looking for a place to relocate. This was largely due to the fact that the state has a &ldquo;pro-business attitude&rdquo; as well as a business tax rate that is relatively low when compared to other states. For these reasons and more, Texas now has more Fortune 500 companies than any other state in the country.

Not only are businesses moving into the area, but the four cities are also experiencing a great deal of migration from workers who are looking for a job. In fact, Houston and Dallas both have higher immigration rates than Chicago. Furthermore, if the job market remains the same in the area, the cities are likely to start seeing a mixture of ethnicities that is similar that found in Los Angeles and New York.

Overall, Newsweek found that Texas has the most job growth in the country. While the states emerging tech center was one reason for this growth, the continually growing University of Texas also contributed to this expansion. Furthermore, Texas enjoyed a great deal of private sector growth from both outside and local companies and firms. Some of these include Nokia, Samsung, Fujitsu and Siemens.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:40:08 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/texas-has-the-greatest-net-relocation-gains.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/texas-has-the-greatest-net-relocation-gains.html</link>
            <author>crystal@canterarealestate.com (Crystal Guthrie)</author>
            <title>Texas Has the Greatest Net Relocation Gains</title>
            <categories>market-statistics</categories>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
A report recently released by Allied Van Lines found that Texas passed all of the other states in the country when it came to net relocation gains last year. As such, 2010 represents the sixth year in a row that the Lone Star State has been at the top of the list.

According to the data collected by Allied Van Lines, Texas experienced a net total of 1,640 moves between January and November 2010. This figure is derived by calculating the number of people moving into the state and then subtracting the number of people who move out of the state with Allied Van Lines services.

Although these figures do represent a drop when compared to 2009, at which time Texas has 2,000 net moves, the state still had a significantly larger net number of moves than its closest competitor. Second place Colorado, for example, saw a gain of only 400. Florida, South Carolina and Arizona took the third, fourth and fifth place positions. In terms of the total number of shipments made in Texas, the Lone Star State actually took the third place position.

While California had a total of 12,301 shipments and Florida had 9,892 shipments, Texas had 9,594 shipments.

On the other end of the spectrum, several states lost more residents than they gained in 2010. The states at the bottom end of the spectrum were Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, all of which had a great deal of difficulty staying afloat during the recession.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Aug 2011 19:33:23 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/report-finds-texas-is-poised-to-lead-the-nations-economic-recovery.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/report-finds-texas-is-poised-to-lead-the-nations-economic-recovery.html</link>
            <author>jim@jimolenbush.com (Jim Olenbush)</author>
            <title>Report Finds Texas is Poised to Lead the Nation</title>
            <categories>austin-news</categories>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
A recent report issued by BBVA Compass bank has determined that Texas is poised to lead the country to its economic recovery. 

There are many reasons why the Lone Star State is in position to lead the country toward recovery, with oil prices being among them. Other reasons include the fact that the state has enjoyed a relatively stable housing market as well as limited fiscal challenges. The state has also continued to add private jobs to its market while its exports, particularly coal and petroleum products, have remained strong. In short, Texas has managed to remain relatively positive while most states have experienced a decline in growth.

According to the report, Texas is likely to enjoy a 2.8 percent growth in its gross domestic product this year. This is well above the projected national growth of 2.3 percent this year. Last year, Texas created 182,200 private sector jobs, which accounts for approximately 16 percent of the total number of private sector jobs in the country. Austin alone added about 2,700 private sector jobs from October of 2009 through September of 2010. Furthermore, the capital city added 17,300 private sector jobs last year.

Fiscally speaking, the state of Texas has the 16th lowest projected state deficit out of 46 states, with the projected budget deficit for 2010 being approximately 10 percent. Nonetheless, the report found that Texas is likely to emerge from its deficit with little difficulty. This is largely due to the fact that the state has a relatively large rainy day fund combined with stable home prices.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Jun 2011 20:28:47 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/austin-projected-to-rebound-from-recession-at-the-start-of-2011.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/austin-projected-to-rebound-from-recession-at-the-start-of-2011.html</link>
            <author>jim@jimolenbush.com (Jim Olenbush)</author>
            <title>Austin Projected to Rebound from Recession at the Start of 2011</title>
            <categories>austin-news</categories>
            <description> <![CDATA[ According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the data collected by Moody's Economy.com, home prices in the Austin area should stop falling by the final quarter of this year. Furthermore, according to a Fiserv Inc. report that was released earlier this month, the prices of homes in the Central Texas area are likely to start increasing by the first quarter of 2011 and will likely reach their pre-recession levels by 2016.Although the analysts predict that home prices will have fallen a total of 4.8% by the time the downward spiral reaches its projected bottom at the end of the year, it has still been a far shorter fall when compared to the national average. In fact, the city did quite well when compared to the 374 markets that were included in the report. Those markets that saw the greatest drop, such as Florida, California, Nevada and Arizona, are in far worse shape in terms of bouncing back from the recession. In fact, the report doesn't expect these markets to regain their peak levels until 2025 or later.&quot;The picture is not uniformly grim,&quot; said Fiserve Chief Economist David Stiff in an Austin Biz Journals article. &quot;In fact, our analysis projects that some markets are poised for a relatively fast recovery, including some areas that never experienced large declines in prices. Markets that could see prices come back within the next few years include Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Columbia, South Carolina and several metro areas in Texas, Washington and upstate New York.&quot;For those who are trying to sell a home in the Austin area, this is certainly good news. For those who are interested in making a purchase, however, there is not much time to spare, as waiting too much longer could result in paying significantly more for a home in the Austin area. ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Mon, 31 May 2010 17:58:20 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/consumer-confidence-in-the-housing-market-grows.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/consumer-confidence-in-the-housing-market-grows.html</link>
            <author>crystal@canterarealestate.com (Crystal Guthrie)</author>
            <title>Consumer Confidence in the Housing Market Grows</title>
            <categories></categories>
            <description> <![CDATA[ According to a Gallup survey that was released in the middle of April, 77% of Americans expect the prices of homes in their area to either remain the same or to go up over the next twelve months. Furthermore, the survey found that 34% of Americans expect the average price of the homes around them to go up over the next year. These figures represent a 12% increase when compared to last year, which is a good sign that consumers are starting to gain more confidence in the residential real estate market. (In April 2009, the Gallup survey found that 63% of Americans believed the housing prices around them would either increase or stay the same.)According to Gallup, the low interest rates combined with the increase in consumer confidence will likely lead to more short-term home sales. These sales will then help to stimulate the real estate market as well as the larger economy in general. The response of consumers to the Gallup survey seems to agree with this prediction, as the survey found that 72% of Americans think now is a good time to purchase a home. These figures have increased slightly when compared to last year, at which time 71% of those surveyed felt it was a good time to purchase a home. When compared to 2008 figures, this percentage has increased by a whopping 19%.  ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 12 May 2010 22:01:36 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/unemployment-rates-decrease-in-the-central-texas-area.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/unemployment-rates-decrease-in-the-central-texas-area.html</link>
            <author>crystal@canterarealestate.com (Crystal Guthrie)</author>
            <title>Unemployment Rates Decrease in the Central Texas Area</title>
            <categories>austin-news</categories>
            <description> <![CDATA[ The Texas Workforce Commission had good news to report to Central Texas residents in the middle of April - the unemployment rate in the area dropped for the second month in a row in March. As such, the unemployment rate is down from 7.3% in February to 7.1% in March.According to the commission, the Austin-San Marcos-Round Rock area added 4,600 jobs from month to month. Nonetheless, the total number of nonagricultural jobs was down to 760,300 when comparing one year to the next, representing a reduction of 500 positions. Furthermore, in March of 2009, the unemployment rate in Central Texas was lower at 6.6%.The greatest number of positions were added in the leisure and hospitality industry, which added 2,100 jobs from February to March. Government positions, which grew by 1,400, enjoyed the second greatest growth. Overall, the only industries to experience a decline in jobs were the professional and business services industry and the mining, logging and construction industry. Between February and March, 600 positions were lost within these industries.The Texas Workforce Commission further reports that about half of the industries in the region were down when comparing year-to-year data, though the leisure and hospitality industry did add 6,000 positions. When comparing March of 2009 to March of 2010, the government also enjoyed quite an increase in jobs, with 2,800 new jobs being created during this timeframe. The education and health services sectors also added 2,700 jobs, but the business and professional services sector lost about 3,800 jobs when comparing year-to-year data.Despite the fluctuations within industries and despite the improvement in unemployment rates within the Central Texas area, unemployment rates throughout the state remained stable at 8.2%. Although the overall unemployment rate within the state is higher than that found in the Central Texas area, it is still far better than the 9.7% national average. ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 12 May 2010 20:00:06 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/austin-housing-markets-shows-signs-of-recovery.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/austin-housing-markets-shows-signs-of-recovery.html</link>
            <author>jim@jimolenbush.com (Jim Olenbush)</author>
            <title>Austin Housing Markets Shows Signs of Recovery</title>
            <categories>market-statistics</categories>
            <description> <![CDATA[ While housing markets around the country took a significant hit as the country struggled through economic troubles, the Austin real estate market has fared much better. Although the Austin housing market did take a dip in sales and in housing prices, the fall has not been as drastic as with most markets throughout the country. In addition, just as economic experts predicted, the Austin housing market has started to rebound before other housing markets around the country.According to the Austin Board of Realtors, multiple listing service data indicated that home sales increased while also spending less time on the market during the month of February. In fact, a total of 1,145 homes sold within the Austin market, representing a 4% increase when compared to February of last year. These figures also represent a significant increase when compared to January, at which time 884 hoes were sold. Although the median sale price of homes remained unchanged at $189,500, it looks as if the modest job growth and the relatively lower unemployment rate enjoyed by Austin's residents is helping the housing market slowly turn around.&quot;It appears we're beginning to see an impact from this steady improvement, particularly in increases in pending sales and new listings, as well as a decrease in the length of time homes are staying on the market, all of which are indicators of future demand,&quot; said John Horton, who is the Chairman of the Austin Board of Realtors, in an Austin Business Journals article.The amount of time homes are spending on the market has also gone down. When compared to February of last year, the number of days the homes stayed on the market fell by 13% to just 77 days. This is quite a significant difference when considering that the average number of days on the market changed by only 5% when comparing fall 2009 figures to those from the previous year.Pending sales have also increased significantly within the Austin market. In February, pending sales increased by 24% to 1,738. New listings also enjoyed an increase in February, growing by 16% to 3,067. Active listings, on the other hand, remained unchanged at 9,335. While Austin still has some work to do before it can declare a full recovery from our country's recent economic troubles, all signs are pointing in the right direction. Of course, for those who are interested in purchasing a home in Austin, they better not wait too much longer because an increase in selling prices is sure to be right around the corner. ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Sat, 10 Apr 2010 21:29:52 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/austin-sees-improvement-in-unemployment-rate.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/austin-sees-improvement-in-unemployment-rate.html</link>
            <author>jim@jimolenbush.com (Jim Olenbush)</author>
            <title>Austin Sees Improvement in Unemployment Rate</title>
            <categories>austin-news</categories>
            <description> <![CDATA[ One of the biggest draws to living in the Austin area is the fact that employment opportunities are quite abundant when compared to many other metropolitan areas throughout the country. While there is no doubt that Austin unemployment rates did take a bit of a hit during these difficult economic times, the city has managed to do quite well when compared to national averages and even when compared to the rest of the state. Furthermore, according to some data recently released by the Texas Workforce Commission, unemployment rates in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area are only getting better.According to the Texas Workforce Commission, unemployment rates in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area jumped from 7% in December to 7.6% in January. Things got better in February, however, when rates fell back down to 7.2%. Although this is still higher than the 6.6% unemployment rate that the area experienced in February of 2009, Austin residents are certainly happy to see things moving back in the right direction.Things aren't quite as chipper throughout the state, however, as the statewide unemployment rate has remained stable at 8.2%. Despite the fact that the statewide workforce added 40,200 jobs, the non-agriculture industries lost 13,000 jobs in February while gaining 12,600 in January. Of course, this rate is still far better than the national unemployment rate, which hit 9.7% in February.&quot;While it is encouraging to see job gains in February across several major employment sectors, our job market remains tight for those seeking new opportunities in the Lone Star State,&quot; said Ronny Congleton, who is the Workforce Commissioner Representing Labor, in an Austin Business Journals article.When looking specifically at the Austin area, transportation, trade and utilities lost the most jobs within the non-agriculture jobs sector when comparing February 2009 to February 2010. In all, this sector lost 4,000 jobs. The manufacturing sector lost the second greatest number of jobs, with a total of 2,900 jobs lost in that same time period. The leisure and hospitality sector, on the other hand, enjoyed the greatest amount of growth after adding 5,000 positions during this same time frame.When comparing employment figures on a month-to-month basis, the trade and transportation sector lost the greatest number of jobs from January to February with a total loss of about 800 positions. The government, on the other hand, added the most jobs with 3,300 jobs added from January to February. Adding 2,200 positions, the education, health, leisure and hospitality sectors added the second greatest number of positions. ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Mon, 05 Apr 2010 18:45:28 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/austin-round-rock-area-experiences-a-drop-in-unemployment-rates.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/austin-round-rock-area-experiences-a-drop-in-unemployment-rates.html</link>
            <author>jim@jimolenbush.com (Jim Olenbush)</author>
            <title>Austin-Round Rock Area Experiences a Drop in Unemployment Rates</title>
            <categories>austin-news</categories>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
According to the Texas Workforce Commission, unemployment levels within the Austin and Round Rock area fell by 6.9% in November. While this is still up from the 4.9% rate that the area was experiencing just one year ago, it does represent a decline in unemployment when compared to the previous month.Previous data indicated that the unemployment rate in the Austin and Round Rock area was 7.2% in October. Compared to the state average of 7.9%, the Austin and Round Rock area is doing quite well with its 6.9% rate. This pattern remains true to the rates from the previous month, with the statewide unemployment rates being at 8.1% in October compared to the 7.2% rate of the Austin and Round Rock area. Similarly, the state had a 5.4% unemployment rate one month ago, while the Austin and Round Rock area had an unemployment rate of 4.9%.According to an article in Biz Journals, there are currently about 12.1 million workers in the Texas workforce. Approximately 905,495 of those workers are unemployed. Jobs within the manufacturing industry are particularly experiencing a great of difficulty, as reports indicate that this industry has experienced the greatest loss within the Austin metro area and has lost 11.2% of its jobs since November of last year. The mining, logging and construction industry has also experienced a significant loss, posting a 7.1% year over year loss. Other industries that have also suffered include transportation, trade, information and utilities.On the other hand, some industries have actually added jobs over the past year. The education and health industries, for example, posted an increase in jobs of 4%. The leisure and hospitality industry also enjoyed an increase in employment opportunities over the past year, with a gain of 3.5%. Other areas that experienced a gain include professional services and government.
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            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:00:20 -0600</pubDate>
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