In contrast to double-digit declines in home prices that have left homeowners in other areas of the country upside down in their mortgages, property values in Tarrant County are up 4.6%, according to a May 17, Star-Telegram article. Valuations in high-end neighborhoods have shot up 11%.
The area also has experienced $4.4 billion in new residential and commercial construction. This provides a good indication that businesses and developers think this is the place to ride out the recession and the best place to be when the economy begins bouncing back. Tarrant County also brought in $1.2 billion in taxes on gas drilling, which the article says have kept property values from falling.
Although the unemployment rate has risen in Texas to 6.7% in March 2009, our figures don’t come close to those of Michigan with 12.6% or Oregon with 12.1% or even California’s 11.2%.
In fact, Fort Worth-Arlington and Dallas-Plano-Iriving ranked fourth and fifth among large metro areas in the country to find a job in a recent list of "Best Cities for Jobs" prepared by Joel Kotkin for New Geography and Forbes magazines. The top three were Austin-Round Rock, Houston- Sugar Land-Baytown and San Antonio.
Relocation surveys show that a lot of people forced to leave other states to find employment have relocated to Texas. These people would no doubt be the first to say that Texans have a lot to be thankful for these days. With job opportunities and property values rising, we’re looking like the good old days never left us.
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