Housing in Austin

Recently in the news have been reports about how housing has taken a downturn across the country. We have heard many reports about the housing woes. Economists point to places like Arizona and Florida, where home values have fallen significantly. Here in Austin, however, demand for housing has not suffered the same ill effects.

In fact, it is one of the few places in the country where housing demand is still healthy. Forbes recently ranked Austin as the #1 place to live in the country. See the article below. For many of the reasons cited in this article, it appears that our city’s growth will support housing for at least the near term. This leads us to believe that Austin remains one of the few places where real estate is still an excellent investment.

Large Metros Austin, Texas Rank: 1

Projected total GMP growth, 2007-2012: 32.05%

The self-proclaimed “Live Music Capital of the World” is booming, thanks in large part to Austin’s high-tech industry (key employers include Dell, IBM and Apple) and the University of Texas, which provides the area with a steady stream of engineering talent. In addition to music, the city also has a thriving film industry. Its projected gross domestic product growth by 2012 is second only to Mobile, Ala., and first among the largest 100 metro areas in the country. Metro area Austin’s population is expected to grow nearly 15% by 2012.