January 3, 2019: I attended the first of many economic forecasts. Today was from MetroStudy, Vaike O'Grady, at the DRHorton VIP REALTOR luncheon. MetroStudy is a veteran Austin company that does forecasting with developers, homebuilders, and local MLS database information.
Here are the highlights: first, Austin added 35,200 jobs, up 3.3% in 2018, and over the past 5 years has averaged approx 36,000 jobs /year.
We are 7th in the Nation for job creation. Austin expanded 7.9% annualized, mostly in Health, Professional services, and CONSTRUCTION.
Our unemployment rate (Nov. 2018) is 2.7% and has been under 4% for 5 years running.
Where are all these people coming from? 30% are out of area, and 30% of those are from California.
Top Five Reasons Austin is Winning
- APPLE announced a $1 BILLION campus near North Austin at Parmer/45 (Robinson Ranch)
- U.S. ARMY Futures Command will attract defense contractors
- GROWING MEDICAL CAMPUS at the University of Texas DELL Medical School
- AIRPORT EXPANSION, a $350 MILLION expansion to 329 gates
- THE DOMAIN AREA and MLS SOCCER
There may be NATIONAL weakness news, but in Austin, this is not the case. Real estate is very REGIONAL. The Northeast may be down 17% but AUSTIN, TEXAS, is up 6.3% for 2018.
I can be contacted at [email protected] or (512) 917-1542 to discuss the real estate market, investing, buying, selling, or any other area where you need real estate advice and expertise.
