Austin ranks number 1 on Forbes' 2008 list of America's Fastest Growing Metros!

Another accolade for Austin recently printed in the ABJ!


Danny Gallant - Realtor
The Gallant Group @ Keller Williams Realty
http://www.gallant-group.com/
danny_gallant@kw.com
512-922-1273

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Austin economy spanks the competition

Austin Business Journal
Thursday, January 31, 2008

High-tech, a booming film industry and the University of Texas all helped propel Austin to the top of Forbes' 2008 list of America's Fastest Growing Metros.

The magazine ranked Austin No. 1 among the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas. The list sorted cities by their anticipated gross domestic product growth between 2007 and 2012.

Austin's GMP, or the value of goods and services produced in the area, is expected to climb 32 percent over the five-year period.

Forbes credits the local boom to high-tech employers like Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) as well as the University of Texas, which is producing ample engineering talent.

Other cities that ranked high on the list include Atlanta, Seattle, Orlando, Houston and San Jose, Calif. The Forbes article points out that all of those cities share several key characteristics with Austin: They are tech hubs in close proximity to universities with growing population bases.
Forbes used GMP forecasts provided by Moody's Economy.com.

The regions of the country with the fastest growing metro areas overall are the Southeast and West. Forbes credits the lower costs of living and doing business in those areas for their higher anticipated performance.

No real estate bubble for Austin and Central Texas

This article from a couple of weeks ago shows how Austin and Central Texas real estate markets are strong and ready for continued, steady growth.


Danny Gallant - Realtor
The Gallant Group @ Keller Williams Realty
http://www.gallant-group.com/
512-922-1273

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AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Austin and other Texas housing markets are among the most undervalued in the nation, according to a new analysis of data by Global Insight Inc. and National City Corp.

The companies looked at prices in 333 metro areas in the third quarter of 2007. Such reports are considered important indicators of potential decline and growth in specific cities.

In calculating valuations, the companies used a complex statistical model that included prices, interest rates, household incomes, population density and any historical premiums or discounts for each market. The percentage of over- and undervaluations is intended to reflect where a housing market's price should be.

In Austin, and in Texas overall, recent rapid increases in home prices never occurred, so the state has avoided the real estate bubble that has plagued coastal areas.

If a city's housing is over- or undervalued by up to 14 percent, it is still considered within a fair market range. Anything outside that range means a considerable over- or undervaluation.

For instance, Austin, at -9.1 percent, is in the fair market range, while Dallas, at -28.1 percent, is considered undervalued.

The writers of the report, "House Prices in America," caution about overinterpreting the data. For instance, though homes in Bend, Ore., are overvalued by 70 percent, that does not necessarily mean prices in that city are expected to fall that much in the near future. *Compliments of United Title Austin