COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – A new study from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University explains why Texas’ housing market fared far better than other states during the current downturn. It also suggests why the state’s economy is expected to continue to do better than the rest of the nation in the coming months.

“Texas’ lower-than-national-average housing cost is one reason for the state’s higher-than-national-average growth rate,” said Dr. Ali Anari, a Center research economist and one of the study’s authors. “When Texans are able to spend more on nonhousing goods and services, the state’s economy is strengthened and more people attracted.

“These results illustrate one of the key reasons the Texas economy outperforms the United States in terms of job growth almost every year,” said Center Chief Economist Dr. Mark Dotzour. “The fact that Texans pay less of their income for housing means they have more to spend on other things that add to the overall quality of life. Texas offers a lower cost of living than many places in the United States.

“This allows Texas employers to be able to attract workers at a reasonable wage rate that allows them to compete successfully in the global economy,” said Dotzour.

Since 1987, the average annual expenditure for shelter per consumer increased in every major American metropolitan market.

Texas data for the study came from the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston-Galveston-Brazoria metro areas because they are among the major metropolitan areas for which consumer expenditure data are available. These two metros accounted for 60.3 percent of Texas labor force last year and 64 percent of Texas GDP the previous year.

“Houston and Dallas consumers spent the smallest shares of their incomes on shelter in 2008 (18.6 percent),” said Anari.

The two Texas metros in the study had virtually no increase in their shelter expenditure shares from 1987 to 2008. Houston’s share rose 1 percent while Dallas’ share increased 2.2 percent.

For more information on the study's findings, read the Center's news release.

April 20 - Karri Turner sends message of support The next installment of
"Letter from Hollywood," a project initiated by actor D.B. Sweeney, was
posted today. This week's letter is from Karri Turner best known for her
nine seasons on the CBS series "JAG."  Karri has supported the troops
over the years with many visits to Iraq, Afghanistan and Walter Reed
among other military facilities around the world.  Read her letter of
support at http://www.army.mil/community/letter.html and give your
feedback on the Community Covenant Facebook discussion board.
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=109004309194&topic=16068  

IRVING (Dallas Business Journal, Dallas Morning News) – After almost 40 years as home of the Dallas Cowboys, high school playoff games and countless other events, Texas Stadium is no more.

Thousands of people witnessed the 60-second implosion Sunday morning as Dykon Explosive Demolition leveled the football stadium, the home field of Cowboys legends such as Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and coach Tom Landry.

The Dallas Cowboys moved from Texas Stadium, built in 1971, to their new $1.3 billion Cowboys Stadium in Arlington last August.

Plans for the 78-acre site are up in the air, but some college students had suggestions. Graduate-level teams from six Texas colleges shared redevelopment ideas at the fifth annual Texas Shoot-Out Real Estate Challenge last week.

CHICAGO (Realtor.org) – Safety and educational quality are among the reasons why 65 percent of Americans would rather own a home than rent one, according to Fannie Mae's national housing survey.

Of those Americans, 43 percent state that safety is a primary reason to buy, and 33 percent say they think schools are better in neighborhoods where most homes are owned by their residents.

However, buyers and renters are more cautious in today’s economic climate than in the past, according to the survey, with 23 percent of renters reporting that they will buy a home but later than they once thought.

A full 70 percent of respondents believe buying a home is one of the safest investments available, but 60 percent think that it will be more difficult for them to secure a mortgage than it was for their parents.

Reuters
updated 9:11 a.m. CT, Tues., April 6, 2010

NEW YORK - Nearly two-thirds of Americans think the time is right to buy a house, with a majority believing prices will be the same or higher over the next year, according to a Fannie Mae survey released Tuesday.

The 64 percent that said it is a good time to buy is just shy of the 66 percent that said the same thing in 2003 as the U.S. housing market was racing higher, said the survey.

However, most of the 3,451 polled said that it would be tougher for them to get a loan than it was for their parents.

The survey comes amid signs that the U.S. housing market is recovering after suffering the worst downturn since the 1930s. But, while home prices in some regions are rising, soaring delinquency rates across the nation mean foreclosures will keep persistent pressure on the market, according to analysts.

Fannie Mae, the largest U.S. mortgage finance company, said that the public still "strongly believes" in upholding their financial commitments, though that weakens once people know someone who is defaulting.

Those who know someone in default are more than twice as likely to have seriously considered stopping payments on their own mortgage, Fannie Mae said.

Copyright 2010 Reuters.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36192404/ns/business-real_estate/

 COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – Both the U.S and the Texas labor markets hit bottom in August 2009 and since then have been losing jobs at decreasing rates. Texas’ job loss rate has decreased from 4 percent in August 2009 to 2.3 percent in February 2010. Over the same period, the U.S. job loss rate has decreased from 5 percent to 2.5 percent.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose from 6.8 percent in February 2009 to 8.2 percent in February 2010, while the U.S. rate rose from 8.2 percent to 9.7 percent during the same period.

Only one Texas industry, education and health services, and the government sector had more jobs in February 2010 than in February 2009. Ten other industries experienced net job losses over the same period.

Four Texas metro areas had positive employment growth rates from February 2009 to February 2010. They were College Station–Bryan, Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood, Waco and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission. Twenty-two metro areas had net job losses.

The state’s actual unemployment rate in February 2010 was 8.3 percent. Amarillo had the lowest unemployment rate followed by Midland, College Station–Bryan and Lubbock.

The Real Estate Center's complete monthly Texas economic review is available online.

TEMPLE (Austin American-Statesman) – Scott & White officials announced this week that the health system’s board approved the $32 million renovation of King’s Daughters Hospital to transform it into a regional children’s hospital.

Work on the 64-bed facility at 1901 Southwest H.K. Dodgen Loop will begin in September, with opening set for late summer or early fall 2011.

The hospital will feature inpatient beds, intensive-care rooms, an emergency department and comprehensive medical and surgical services. King’s Daughters will be the only free-standing children’s hospital between Austin and Dallas–Fort Worth.

During renovation, King’s Daughters services will be limited to an emergency room, imaging and lab. Other services will be moved to the main Scott & White campus, less than a mile away.