Austin Home Price Appreciation Top 10 in America
There was a tiny story in today’s Statesman about how Austin continues to buck the national trend. There was a list of 10 cities around the country that have seen good home price appreciation this year and over 5 years. The list and my comments:
Wenatchee, WA – this is a small town a little less than half way between Seattle and Spokane. The one year rate of appreciation was almost 16% and the 5 year rate was just over 79%.
Provo-Orem, UT had rates of 14% and 51% respectively. This area is on the east side of Utah Lake, just south of Salt Lake City. This area picked up around 100,000 people between 1990 and 2000.
Grand Junction, CO had appreciation rates of 14% and 66%. Grand Junction is in western Colorado near the border of Utah. Grand Junction grew its population from 1990 to 2000 by around 27%.
Ogden-Clearfield, UT saw rates of 14% and 42% over 1 year and 5 years. Again, more people moved and are still moving into the area just north of Salt Lake City.
Idaho Falls, ID saw an increase of 12% and 50%. Idaho Falls is in eastern Idaho fairly close to Jackson (Jackson Hole), WY. According to the Census Bureau, almost all of Idaho’s 120 major cities saw population increases in 2005. Apparently, people are leaving very expensive areas like Jackson Hole for more affordable, yet still scenic areas like Idaho Falls.
Austin-Round Rock saw home appreciation rates of 10% and 29%. Much of this came over the last three years when the area’s job market picked back up. Job growth is somewhere over 4% on an annualized rate and unemployment is below 4%. Austin is the largest of all the cities on this list. One thing I found interesting is that the population of people over 50 grew at over 26%. Does that tell you that the area is a hot destination for retirees and people looking to retire?
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX saw increases of 9% and 33%. Money Magazine named Beaumont as one of the best places to retire in 2006. Home prices are quite inexpensive compared to the national average, there is plenty to do for retirees, there is good health care and the crime rate is fairly low. By the way, Austin was #2 on that list for large cities.
Asheville, NC saw home appreciation rates of 9% and 55%. Asheville is also on the Money list and has been seeing a good number of people retiring there.
The last city on the list was Billings, MT, which saw home appreciation rates of 9% and 49%.
What do all of these cities have in common? For one thing, they aren’t boring, with the possible exception of Beaumont-Port Arthur, which has the Sabine Lake and the Gulf of Mexico close by, but is a bit dull in my opinion. All of these cities have seen good population growth. All of these cities are pretty affordable in terms of housing prices and cost of living. All have something cultural going for them. For Austin, it is live music, museums, clubs and other entertainment. All of these cities have great things to do outside and lots of green space.
What I find to be interesting is the fact that Austin is a major city, with the 5 county area having a population in 2007 of over 1.5 million people. For a city like this to continue to be so healthy economically, there has to be a lot going on. Job growth is huge, the hills and lakes make Austin one of the most scenic areas around. The state of Texas has no income tax. There is tons to do, from boating to clubbing, to UT sports, to golf, to mountain biking, to comedy clubs, to running or hiking greenbelts, Austin has just about everything.
Another thing that I really like is that though Austin has seen pretty good home price appreciation, it hasn’t seen the dramatic run-up in prices that other parts of the county, that are now bleeding pretty badly, have seen. We’re not gaining in price like parts of California, Arizona and Florida were until they crashed starting last year. Can we sustain this? I think that we can as long as the national economy doesn’t tank.
It is July, 2008 now and as I look back on this post I am amazed that although the number of homes sold in the Austin area has slowed, prices have continued to increas. Nothing dramatic, but we're nor going backwards like so many other metro areas have. Watch out for 2009. I have a feeling that listings will be down and that prices will be up. It won't be a sharp climb, but it should be slow and steady just like we like it.
Would you like to know more about homes in Austin? Contact me at 512-263-9090.