Now that the weather has cooled down, the mosquitoes have disappeared and the whir of air conditioners is replaced by heaters kicking on, Houston is a pleasant place to live weather-wise. In fact a writer to the Houston Chronicle stated recently that this time of year Houston is "like San Diego with culture and without California's state income tax." Living most of my life in San Diego, I don't know that I agree with that statement (after all San Diego does still have beautiful beaches all year round and very few bugs - and I would point out the differences in housing/state budgets/education instead of citing state income taxes) but I do admit I often call our beautiful Fall and Spring days here "San Diego days". But there is another reason to be glad to call Houston home.
!n a recent Internet article from Realtor Magazine, they quoted Forbes Magazine stating that "Some U.S. cities with stable housing and diversified employment have been virtually untouched by the Great Recession. Analysts say cities that are most likely to leave the recession in the same or better condition than they started it are those where home prices didn’t fluctuate wildly, which spared them the devastating effects of foreclosure, lost jobs, and lost productivity. To identify these cities, Forbes magazine ranked the 100 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas by employment rates, the conventional mortgage home price index, and the average days on the market for properties currently for sale."
!n a recent Internet article from Realtor Magazine, they quoted Forbes Magazine stating that "Some U.S. cities with stable housing and diversified employment have been virtually untouched by the Great Recession. Analysts say cities that are most likely to leave the recession in the same or better condition than they started it are those where home prices didn’t fluctuate wildly, which spared them the devastating effects of foreclosure, lost jobs, and lost productivity. To identify these cities, Forbes magazine ranked the 100 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas by employment rates, the conventional mortgage home price index, and the average days on the market for properties currently for sale."
Well if I'm citing this article you can imagine that Houston is on the list. In fact in the top ten mentioned - three were in Texas! They also lumped Dallas and Fort Worth together - which is cheating I think - and would probably move Houston up even higher in the rankings in my opinion. What does that mean to you and your home? It means Houston is a great place to live and, more importantly, to buy a home and own a home. Then you can always visit San Diego when it gets too hot in the summer..... that's what I do!
"The top cities on Forbes list were:
Omaha/Council Bluffs, Neb.
San Antonio, Texas
Austin-Round Rock, Texas
Pittsburgh
Harrisburg/Carlisle, Pa.
Dallas/Fort Worth
Rochester, N.Y.
Houston
Raleigh/Cary, N.C.
Baton Rouge, La."
Source: Forbes, Francesca Levy (11/19/2009)
