It's Great to be a Texan
The Healthiest Housing Markets
With most economists and builders expecting a national market decline this year, this may not seem like the best time to be selecting the “healthiest” markets in the country. Virtually every market was down last year. But a close look at the numbers reveals that some markets have way outperformed others during the last four years and are likely to continue to do so this year.
When the housing market stages its official recovery, the markets listed on the following pages are likely to lead the parade. It may take a year or more for the weakest markets--where burgeoning foreclosure sales are still pounding new home values, making building and selling new homes an exercise in futility-- to finally stage a turnaround.
The healthiest markets have many things in common. Most of them are great places to live, either close to the ocean, mountains, or major universities. Most of them didn’t have a huge run-up in prices during the boom and aren’t experiencing rampant deflation during the bust.
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THE HEALTHIEST MARKETS FOR 2009
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Area and # of 2008 Building Permits
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Area and # of 2008 Building Permits
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Area and # of 2008 Building Permits
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| 1. Houston, TX 42,697 | 6. Raleigh, NC 11,386 | 11. Nashville, TN 8,142 |
| 2. Austin, TX 14,250 | 7. Seattle, WA 13,021 | 12. Denver, CO 8,800 |
| 3. Fort Worth, TX 10,388 | 8. Indianapolis, IN 7,004 | 13. Charlotte, NC 12,231 |
| 4. San Antonio, TX 10,261 | 9. Fayetteville, Ark. 2,989 | 14. Wilmington, NC 3,551 |
| 5. Dallas, TX 26,145 | 10. Washington, DC 11,693 | 15. Myrtle Beach, SC 3,211 |
In a year when permits declined 35 percent nationally, Dallas only experienced a 9 percent fall-off. With a population of 4.2 million, Dallas was the third largest home building market last year, as measured in permits pulled. Employers in Dallas, a popular place for corporate relocation and expansion, added 42,000 jobs last year, a growth rate of 2 percent. Existing home prices have held steady, falling a paltry 2.3 percent in
the last year. Interestingly, the face of residential construction has changed dramatically in Dallas in recent years; 58 percent of the activity last year was in multifamily, compared to a five-year average of 23 percent. The relative stability of the market, though, wasn’t enough to prevent Wall Homes from filing for bankruptcy earlier this year. On the other hand, former Meritage co-CEO John Landon recently started a new Dallas-based home building company. Busiest builders: D.R. Horton, Highland Homes (Horizon Homes is a subsidy of Highland Homes), David Weekely Homes, K.Hovnanian Homes, Drees Custom Homes. Courtesy: Hanley Wood Market Intelligence. [Excerpts from Builder 2009]
Tina Marr, REALTOR® , GRI, Keller Williams Realty - March 2009
