1. Houston, Texas
2008 Total Building Permits: 42,697
They like to do things big in Houston. Now the metro area, home to nearly 5.8 million people, can lay claim to being the largest home building market in the country, with 42,697 building permits. The market is still benefiting from an influx of population and jobs and rebuilding in the wake of Hurricane Ike. Employment rose 2.2 percent last year, representing the addition of an incredible 57,000 jobs. Home building activity in Houston has only fallen 31 percent since 2005. Also, existing home prices actually rose in Houston last year, 2.8 percent, to $160,200, still a very affordable level. Roughly one third of the home building action is in Harris County, followed by Houston proper and Fort Bend County. One of Houston’s largest builders, Royce Homes, shut down last year, and Kimball Hill, one of the biggest builders in Texas, closed its doors this year after it failed to find a buyer.
Busiest builders: Lennar, Perry Homes, David Weekley Homes, MHI/McGuyer Homebuilders, and KB Home.
The remaining hot spots on the list are as follows:
2. Austin, Texas
3. Fort Worth, Texas
4. San Antonio, Texas
5. Dallas, Texas
6. Raleigh, North Carolina
7. Seattle, Washington
8. Indianapolis, Indiana
9. Fayetteville, Arkansas
10. Washington, D.C.
11. Nashville, Tennessee
12. Denver, Colorado
13. Charlotte, North Carolina
14. Wilmington, North Carolina
15. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Courtesy: Hanley Wood Market Intelligence.
If you have questions about buying a new home, give me a call 832-368-5953.
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