The Dallas Fed released a report this week with promising news for the state. According to research conducted by the reserve bank, “Texas employment grew at a 2 percent rate in 2011, government employment rose in November and December following four months of sharp declines, and housing indicators suggest that the sector continues to heal.”
With the Job market expected to expand “at about a 2 percent pace in 2012,” Texas seems to be on the path to continued prosperity. The most promising news of all comes in the housing market. The Fed states that “Texas existing-home sales rose by 2.2 percent in December and were up 8.7 percent from a year ago.” Meanwhile, home prices increased by 0.8 percent in the third quarter but are still down 3.1 percent from their peak in first quarter 2009, according to the FHFA House Price Index.”
It is comforting to see renewed strength in the sector that precipitated the 2007 recession. A recovery in the housing market could be a signal of renewed confidence returning to the American economy as a whole. Whether or not these trends continue depends, in part, on the monetary and fiscal policy choices of the powers that be.
-Robert McDowall