Austin Area Home Building Picks Up

I just posted on my Local Market Information page (http://www.ehomesbymorris.com/custom3.shtml) an article from today’s Austin American-Statesman saying that residential construction permits in the Austin area were up 9% in 3rd Qtr 2009 compared to the same period in 2008.  Builders expect to permit about 7,000 new homes this year, up from all of 2008.  That’s obviously great news, and more support for what I have been saying for a long time — Austin’s economy and real estate market are very different and much stronger than the parts of the U.S. that have gotten so much press.

The article goes on the compare this year’s 7,000 permits to the 16,000 that were issued in 2006.  That’s absolutely fair and factual.  Many comparisons have been made in 2007 through 2009 to that year.  Unfortunately, it is almost never noted that 2006 was a real anomaly — well above the market trends that Austin has experienced for a very long time.  The fact is that what we have experienced in the past quarter is very close to “normal,” if you look at twenty years of market history.  [Long-Term Market Dashboard 10-24-09]  What’s encouraging is that despite continuing fragility in the states where the economy has suffered the most, Central Texas continues to weather the storm much better than most.