In 2011, the biggest job producers were Houston with a blow-out of 109,700 jobs gained since the recession, New Orleans ranked 2nd with 39,400 jobs, Austin ranked a close third with 37,900 jobs, Dallas-Fort Worth ranked 4th with 36,000 and San Antonio ranked 5th adding 25,200 private-sector jobs between 2006 and 2011. Only 13 of the nation’s 100 biggest labor markets regained all of the jobs that were lost during the recession which means 87 cities are still trying to break even.

The worst job-maker was LA which lost 432,000 jobs since 2006. LA might have the weather, but the jobs are here in Austin. Thinking of making a move? Ask us how we can help. Request a free relocation guide, or let one of our Austin Relocation Specialist guide you.

Read more about how Texas dominated the On Numbers report here.

Special thanks to Lone Star Strong of Lonestarstrong.com for the incredible photo!

Click here to see more information on why these cities made the list.

Want to make the move to Austin? Ask us how!

Austin ranked well because of several factors:

• Austin had the third-fastest job growth in the nation from 2005 - 2010 with the help of two state institutions – The University of Texas at Austin and The State Capitol.
• Austin is a growing tech hub – offices to expand include Samsung, eBay and Facebook.
• Austin has diversified technology bases including Dell with more than 14,000 employees, IBM, Freescale Semiconductor, AT&T Computer, National Instruments, and AMD.
• Retail and housing markets are recovering, thanks to job and wage gains at these tech employers.

The 2011 top 10 performers (with 2010 rankings) of the 200 largest metros:

Download the Milken Institute's index and read more about best performing cities in the US here.

Even the weather couldn't stop attendees from contributing to the growth of the music industry and economy. Dust and dry weather didn't stop the music lovers from enjoying the three-day music festival. Like festival James Moody exclaimed, "We're essentially throwing a big party in a desert." It's undeniable that everyone just wants to have FFFun and enjoy live music, even if the conditions are less than ideal. City of Austin understands this and continues promote live music festivals because without it, we'd probably be in a lot worse shape. Live music festivals are contributing to the City of Austin's economy in a big way and we need to support it.

For more information about the Austin 2011-2012 Economy Forecast, consult AngelouEconomics.

This blog is in reference to this week's Free Lunch Fridays, a trivia contest featuring bars and restaurants in Realty Austin's new neighborhood in Downtown Austin. The winner gets a free lunch for two at a restaurant nearby our new headquarters off West 5th and Lamar. "Like" us on Realty Austin's Facebook Fan Page to join the fun and win free lunch for two! This week's FLF is sponsored by 24 Diner, a local restaurant near Downtown Austin on 6th and Lamar.

Tweet

By almost all reports, Austin leads the nation in attracting businesses and people. When we finally read about the national economic recovery, Austin will already be riding the curve up, ahead of all but a handful of local economies around the nation. That means mortgage rates will have started rising, houses will be selling just a little better, and chances are you will have missed the opportunity to buy closest to the bottom of the real estate market if you haven’t already bought or refinanced your mortgage.

So, we find ourselves here in Austin at the forefront, the vanguard, the leading edge of coming out of the economic slump our state and the nation seems to be in. While national reports have our country at 9.9% unemployment, Texas Labor Market Information (www.twc.state.tx.us) shows our state unemployment rate over the summer at around 8.5%, Austin and Round Rock 6.7% , Cedar Park 5.7%, and Pflugerville 5.9%. Isn’t that awesome!? (These are from the "not seasonally adjusted" numbers.)

Update: I wrote this in October 2010. Since then the September numbers have come out (again, not adjusted) Texas: 7.9%, Austin 6.7% unchanged, Round Rock 6.2%, Cedar Park 5.4%, Pflugerville 5.3%. Perhaps the surrounding cities show movement because of the smaller economies, and they are moving in the right direction.

As awesome as that is, it also means that all this economic reporting we are reading and hearing tends to be dated. It would make more sense for us who live here to find our own indicators to focus on. If you read any article that talks about the economic recovery, they talk about consumer spending leading the recovery, and reduced unemployment as a necessity. As a professional in the residential real estate business, I believe that people need to feel more confident about keeping their current job, or getting a job they don’t have. Many of my real estate colleagues have voiced agreement.

That is why I have come up with a project for myself to keep track of consumer spending, employment, and pending residential sales (for houses only) at the local level. I would also like to hear from any readers about what you can observe that might indicate people are spending more or people are getting confident about their employment.

People in line at Starbucks: My first favorite thing will be counting people in line at my local Starbucks. I plan to make it a point to go to the Anderson Mill / 183 Starbucks regularly two days out of the week, Mondays and Saturdays between 8am and 9am, and count the people in line. The Anderson Mill and 183 location will be a great indicator for northwest neighborhoods like Anderson Mill, Milwood, The Mountain (Park at Spicewood Springs), Spicewood at Balcones, Barrington Oaks, even Avery Ranch, Forest/Silver Oaks, and others in that area.

Online job postings: The other easy-enough-thing-to-do is to get a count of the job openings on some of the public web sites for job hunters. Using no other criteria but “Austin TX”, at http://www.indeed.com/ and http://www.simplyhired.com/, those searches returned counts of 29,696 and 27,934 respectively. For the same search, workintexas.org showed 425, and http://www.dice.com/ showed 912 for postings within the last 30 days. I am thinking postings on these types of site will increase as companies begin to hire again. (I tried http://www.monster.com/, but it limited the results to 1000 records.)

Pending residential real estate contracts: Since I am an Austin real estate agent with a constant pulse on the market, I am also going to keep track of Pending sales. Lately a big story in local real estate has been the record setting inventory of Active listings for single family homes on the Austin Board of REALTORS® multiple listing service. I want to be on top of the story when Pending contracts begin to surpass new listings over a given period of time. With the current hold up on foreclosures, we should also see something happening in these numbers whether they continue to be stopped or released.

The Austin area markets are going to lead the way out of this economic slump. Stay tuned with me to see how it moves.

Information prepared and provided by George Mora of Realty Austin. George is an Austin real estate agent who lives and works in Austin, Texas. Find George's contact on his Realty Austin agent profile, or search Austin real estate and all Austin homes for sale in Austin, Texas on RealtyAustin.com.

20-year history of mortgage rates in Austin is proof that this is the time to buy in Austin.

We're continually bombarded with news of the housing market in today's economy, and sometimes it's difficult to filter out the important facts. As a buyer, you might be on the fence and saying to yourself, "I'll wait until the rates go even lower before I buy". Well, you might want to take a look at this chart that shows the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate over the past 20 years (Source: Freddie Mac) and ask yourself if this is indeed a good time.

Over the past 20 Years, the average mortgage interest rate has been 7.20% (Source: Freddie Mac). In the 3rd Qtr of 2010, the average rate was only 4.44% (Source: Freddie Mac). Fluctuations in the housing market are normal over time, and there will always be adjustments in mortgage rates. Fortunately, we live in Austin where our market has not seen wild swings & major corrections like some parts of the country. While Austin has not been fully immune to some market corrections, our market is still strong and it's still a great time to be a buyer.

Mortgage rates are at one of the lowest points in modern history, and owning a home is still considered to be one of the best investments that you can make. Whether you are on the buying side or the selling side, this is an opportunity that is too good to pass up. The deals are out there, and these rates will help keep your payments lower than ever.

If you're curious about how you can take advantage of this wonderful opportunity, call today and let's talk about it. I can put you in touch with some of our lender partners, and we can work together to help you find the right home & the right mortgage.

Information prepared and provided by Kevin Wilhelm of Realty Austin. Kevin is an Austin real estate agent who lives, and works, in Austin, Texas.

Tweet

While the US unemployment rate rises, Austin's unemployment rate is holding steady in the 7 percent range. Don't believe it? Check out these stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: Economy at a Glance. The suvey shows Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX improving its labor force while diminshing its unemployment rate.

Tweet

May proved to be another great month for Austin real estate. Foreclosures are down 14% -- an incredible decrease over last month's Austin foreclosure rate. According to a new report from RealtyTrac Inc., only 950 Austin homes foreclosed, defaulted or scheduled for aution in May compared to 1,109 homes in April. While this statistic is higher year-over-year, real estate experts assert that comparing foreclosure rate month-to-month is a better indicator of a recovering economy.

Austin also dropped 5 places in RealtyTrac Inc.'s ranking of metros with the highest foreclosure rates. Last month, Austin ranked 115 out of 203 for highest foreclosure rate. This month, Austin ranked 120.

From April to May, numbers show that Texas is still fairing well against the nation's foreclosure rate. In other words, owning property in Texas is always going to be a great investment. 

Read more about Austin's foreclosure rate in Austin Business Journal's article here.

Austin's been all over 2010 "best U.S. cities" lists ranking top 10 on lists for fittest U.S. city, best quaiity of life and, now, first place for the best city to watch in the next decade adding to the long list of reasons to live in Austin. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance ranked the largest U.S. metros based on economic vitality and unique livability appeal.

Austin, with its highly creative atmosphere and low-key cool scene, easily attracts like-minded professionals who bring talent and innovation to the local job pool. This is why Austin ranked number one for best city to watch in the next decade; its ability to generate jobs with new and innovative thinking nutures its local business scene and upholds its cool factor.

Best Cities for the Next Decade