As the country works toward digging its way out of the recession, all eyes have been focused on the housing market. After all, the fall out of the housing market was the biggest contributor to our current economic situation and, therefore, stabilizing the market is the key to enjoying a full economic recovery. Unfortunately, many markets are still continuing to struggle throughout the country, but others are starting to show signs of stabilization. In fact, according to the Austin Board of Realtors and the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin, Austin's home market has neared stabilization and may even enjoy a slight rebound this year.
There are many reasons to think that Austin's home marker it near stabilization, but one of the biggest indicators…
According to McGraw-Hill Construction, construction activity is expected to pick up some momentum in 2010, with the city of Austin enjoying the greatest growth. In fact, the 2010 Texas Construction Outlook predicts that construction starts will increase in value by 16 percent this year, with a total statewide value of $52.5 billion. Austin will nearly double the statewide prediction, with the report forecasts indicating that the city's construction starts will increase in value by 30%.
Austin isn't the only city that will surpass the statewide predictions, but some other major Texas cities are predicted to fall short of the state average. Some of the other predictions include:
• Houston - predicted to grow by 17% • Dallas - predicted to grow by 16% •
According to the most recent Beige Book survey to be released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, economic conditions in the state of Texas are showing signs of improvement. In fact, the report found that economic conditions through November had "firmed" and that a number of industries are showing signs of improvement.
The Beige Book survey, which is conducted on a periodic basis and evaluates the economic conditions of the Federal 11th district that includes Central Texas, found that the paper, high-tech manufacturing, housing, staffing, energy and petrochemicals industries are all showing signs of improvement. Furthermore, the Dallas Fed's Index of Leading Indicators is also showing that an economic recovery is starting to develop in Texas.
A study conducted by Farmers Insurance Group of Companies mirrored the results of a recent FBI report, which listed the city of Round Rock as one of the safest places to live in the United States. According to the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies report, which looked at 379 large metropolitan areas with a population of 500,000 or more, the Austin-Round Rock area is listed as number one among the Most Secure U.S. Places to Live.
A number of different factors were considered when conducting this study, including all of the following:
• Extreme weather conditions • Crime statistics • Housing depreciation • Risk of natural disasters • Air quality • Foreclosure • Environmental hazards • Terrorist threats • Job loss • Life expectancy.
It certainly isn't uncommon to hear Austinites complain about the traffic they experience while traversing the city. But, according to a report recently released by the Texas Department of Transportation, Austin does not rank at the top of the list of congested traffic areas throughout the state. In fact, within its list of the top 100 most congested roadways in the State, downtown's Austin’s I-35 was ranked at number 26. Highways and interstates running through Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, on the other hand, were listed far ahead of Austin's I-35.
I-35 wasn't the only Austin highway to make the list. MoPac between US Highway 290 and US Highway 183 also made the list, ranking in at 44th. US183 from Mopac through to I-35 was also listed, coming in at
Although Austin has been ranked by Forbes.com as the city that is most likely to experience the fastest economic turnaround, it doesn't mean the city is quite ready to proclaim that all is well. In fact, home sales still remain down year-over-year, but they are showing improvement when compared to earlier this year.
According to the Austin Board of Realtors, a little more than 1,700 homes were sold in May 2009, which is down by 19% when compared to May of 2008. In addition, the median price for single-family homes declined by 1% when compared to one year ago, resulting in a median price of $193,000. At the same time, there are signs that sales and prices are picking up when compared to the beginning of the year. In terms of volume, the number of homes…
The General Services Administration, which is responsible for providing support to other federal agencies and for managing approximately $500 billion of Federal property, will be dispersing money to over 100 different development projects across the country. The funding, which became available through the recently passed stimulus package, is meant to help produce new jobs while also improving government facilities throughout the country.
In all, the state of Texas will be receiving $325 million from the stimulus package, which will be used to fund 18 GSA projects throughout the state. Three of these projects will take place in Austin, which will be receiving $132 million in stimulus money from the General Services Administration.
The current economic conditions have resulted in an increase in foreclosures around the country, but new data released by the Foreclosure Listing Service Inc. located in Addison has shown that the foreclosure on higher-end homes have seen the largest gain in Bastrop, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties.
Although foreclosures on homes valued at less than $200,000 are still responsible for the bulk of foreclosures within the Austin metro area - with 71% of foreclosed upon homes fitting within this price range - the number of higher end homes that have gone into foreclosure has more than doubled in the first quarter this year.
"Over the last year, the largest gain in first quarter postings was a 219 percent surge in notices filed on luxury homes valued at…
Students throughout the state of Texas should soon see an improvement in the quality and the nutrition of their school-provided lunches. According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, the state recently received $11 million in federal funding - all of which is part of the recently passed stimulus package - with which they will be able to upgrade, update, and replace food preparation equipment throughout the state's schools.
"Schools can use this money to replace old, worn-out equipment and make sure our children are receiving healthy meals," said Todd Staples, who is the Texas Agriculture Commissioner, in an interview with Austin Biz Journals. "These funds will go a long way to improving the nutritional offerings in schools."
Round Rock will soon be home to a new $119 million Austin Community College District campus. According to Austin Biz Journals, the college broke ground on the new campus recently and will expects to be open to students by 2010.
The new campus, which will be able to serve 11,500 students, will cover approximately 600,000 square feet. The building, on the other hand, will cover 275,000 square feet. This building will include both classroom and administrative space. In addition to housing traditional classrooms, it will also be home to science labs as well as several specialized facilities that are designed to assist students with getting into the workforce. Some of these will include renewable energy facilities and automotive technology facilities.
