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B-CS housing in good shape
By Trevor | May 12, 2008
April 20, 2008
The local housing market saw mixed results in February, but economist Karr Ingham says home prices - the sector’s most important indicator - remain strong. The average home sales price for February jumped 4.8 percent to $169,261, compared with the price in the same period in 2007. Year-over-year, the market has improved 3.5 percent. Other housing indicators were a mixed bag, according to Ingham. Building permit valuations in February were down 18.3 percent from $30.2 million in February 2007. But record numbers in January offset the decline, and the valuations were up 22.7 percent for January and February over the same period in 2007. Jim Gaines, a research economist for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, said he expected a mild economic dip. Based on market cycles over the past ten years, Gaines said, the market is due for about a 9 percent decline. National concerns aside, Ingham said, Bryan-College Station’s overall economy continued to grow in early 2008. Job growth leveled off, as evidenced by the Texas Workforce Commission’s revisions to 2006 and 2007 employment data. The commission increased 2006 job counts and lowered 2007 counts by about 800. The area’s employment level decreased 1.6 percent to 90,100 jobs in the first months of 2008, compared with the 2007 level. Retail sales grew 10.3 percent from $180 million in February 2007, and auto sales climbed 25.6 percent from $19.6 million in the same period. Ingham raised the region’s economic index to 123.9 from 123.5 in January.
[Bryan-College Station Eagle]
Topics: College Station Real Estate |
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