Austin Named 2nd Healthiest Housing Market

I found an interesting online article that ranks Austin as the #2 Healthiest Housing Market in the nation (There were 15 cities ranked and the top five were ALL IN TEXAS!!), behind only Houston. Here is an excerpt from the article:

2. Austin, Texas
2008 Total Building Permits: 14,250
Nine years ago, during the tech bust, some builders felt that Austin was too crowded and left. The bloom is back on Austin’s yellow rose now; it moved up the leader board to become the sixth largest home building market last year. Job creation explains the move. While other markets lost employment, Austin added 17,400 jobs last year, 2.3 percent growth rate. It helps that Austin is home to both a major university, The University of Texas, and the state capital. Existing homes cost a little bit more in Austin than other Texas markets, roughly $188,600, but that’s still below the national average. Also, Austin is one of the few metro areas in the country where median prices actually rose in 2008--2.7 percent. Amazingly, Austin now generates more home building activity than Chicago, which has six times more people.
Busiest builders: D.R. Horton, Lennar, KB Home, Centex Homes, Meritage Homes. Courtesy: Hanley Wood Market Intelligence.

Yet another indication that there may be light at the end of the tunnel!! Here is the link, if you would like to read the entire article:

http://www.builderonline.com/local-markets/the-healthiest-housing-markets-for-2009.aspx