Construction Starts in Austin Predicted to Increase in Value by 30%

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%
•    El Paso - predicted to grow by 8%
•    San Antonio - predicted to grow by 6%

In Austin, the report predicts that housing starts will grow by a total of 31%, which will increase the value to $21.8 billion in the city. Commercial construction, on the other hand, will actually fall by 1% to $17.6 billion. With the help of federal stimulus funding, however, public works and utilities construction is predicted to get a boost.

The New York-based McGraw-Hill Construction company has been compiling project and product information as well as specifications, plans, industry news and forecasts for over a century. So, the fact that the company has such faith in Austin is a good sign for the city and it's economy. After all, an increase in the value of construction starts is a good indicator that the economy is moving in the right direction.

Of course, just as with the rest of the country, the city of Austin still has some ground to make up before it can confidently say that the recession is over. Nonetheless, reports such as this one released by McGraw-Hill Construction as well as other reports stating that Austin is the number one city for investment in commercial real estate are among the many reasons why Austin is poised to be one of the first cities to fully recover from the recession.

The fact that construction starts are predicted to increase in value throughout the state of Texas is also a good sign for the country's economy as a whole. Obviously, every market is different and there will still be those that continue to struggle throughout 2010. Nonetheless, reports such as this one give hope that our country's economic troubles may be coming to an end.