Maybe you haven't noticed but this great recession saw a crash in oil and natural gas prices. Take a look at the chart of UNG:
bigcharts.marketwatch.com;
I said the boom in oil prices caused a boom in TX and kept the unemployment rates low before the Great Recession. TX unemployment rates started at a much lower level so its rates didn't get as high as other states.
........housing never boomed like it did in the other states
Sure it did
No, it didn't.......TX saw very little price appreciation. The reasons why it did not are complicated. Part of it is that TX has more buildable land surroundign its cities because the cities are essentially built on flat land. Compare that to Seattle which has mountains to its east and water to its west. It can only build north and south. To protect what farm land still exists Seattle passed a growth mgmt plan ten years ago. In fact, most metros on the West Coast face similar problems and most have had to pass growth mgmt plans. In addition, there are some peculiar conditions that related specifically to TX as identified in this WSJ article:
Why didn’t Texas, unlike other Sunbelt states, see a housing bubble?
In Dallas, home prices have stayed flat since 2000 and they fell just 4.5% in February from a year ago, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index figures released Tuesday. That compares with an 18.6% decline nationwide over the same period. Foreclosure rates in the state have remained low.
The Rortybomb blog argues that the state’s strict lending laws had something to do with it. Texas has a ban on prepayment penalties, it also doesn’t allow balloon loans or negative amortizing loans where the loan payment is less than the interest on the loan.
But a handful of states, including Alaska and Vermont, had also banned prepayment penalties, and others, including hard-hit Minnesota, joined in banning them from the subprime market as that bubble inflated, according to the Center for Responsible Lending.
Others have argued that high property taxes and other land regulations in Texas discouraged the Lone Star State from jumping into the housing boom with two boots.
California real-estate investor Bruce Norris notes that the cost of owning a property free and clear in Texas can range from double to triple the cost in California. In Texas, a $150,000 home carries an average $5,300 in taxes and insurance, compared to $2,050 in California. (The gap is more pronounced among $1 million homes, where average taxes and insurance reach $32,500 in Texas, compared to $11,500 in California.)
Any Texans out there? Care to chime in?
blogs.wsj.com
TX grows mostly by snagging industry from other states.
You mean refugees flee oppressive business climates? Sure. Is that the main source of growth? I don't think so.
I think of it more as pilfering.
Its true that Houston has the oil industry and liberal, smart city Austin
Make that stupid Austin.
Most cities in TX would do well to grow as intelligently as Austin has.
look at how Halliburton picked up its corp. headquarters from Houston and moved it to Dubai. Low taxes coupled with a growing population that ain't all that rich has a way of catching up with a state. Just sayin'.
If you're just saying HAL moved its HQ to Dubai to escape TX low state taxes ... well, go ahead and say it, it't nonsense that anyone will recognize. BTW HAL is still run from Houston regardless of where its corporate HQ are legally.
No, what I am saying is that the oil industry sees its business as global and feels no need to remain in TX. You never want one of your major industries to take on that kind of attitude.
I bet CJ can tell us more on that subject.
CJ could tell you a bunch of stuff he just made up. He's good at that.
I am sorry you all are so envious of CJ. Its rather embarrassing the way you all carry on about him. |
