Forbes Urbanist, Joel Kotkin, recently addressed the 21st Century American City and how Texas is setting the pace, no pun intended. But, would you expect anything less from the self proclaimed “picante sauce” capital?
Kotkin suggests, “If one state is a poster child for economic recovery, its Texas, home to four of the 10 cities on our list. There's more to why Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston are faring well than just the state's energy industry. The tech, government and education industries supplement the oil state's riches. As for housing, cities in Texas didn't see the same run-up in home prices and rampant speculation that led to the spectacular bubble burst elsewhere in the country.”
According to the most recent Census estimates, the Dallas and Ft. Worth, Texas, region added 146,000 people between 2008 and 2009--the most of any region in the country--a healthy 2.3% increase.
And, these trends should continue: According to Moody's ( MCO - news - people ) Economy.com, Texas' big cities are entering economic recovery mode well ahead of almost all the major centers along the East or West Coasts. Dallas added nearly 150,000 positions and Houston a hefty 250,000.
"The housing market got lucky, if you want to look at it that way," says James P. Gaines, research economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. "We didn't have excessive overbuilding, so we don't have a big overhang of unsold new homes, and because Texas has among most affordable housing in the country, the demand sustained."
This is all good news for Mischer Development companies building in the Houston area, and sure to increase the volume of their new home sales, which currently included more than 125,000 home sites for some 400,000 residents. Not to mention the potential for increased development needs for commercial and medical office space. All comforting news for homeowners and builders alike, currently calling Houston, Texas their home.