Let us, for a minute consider what sort of environment makes for a strong and stable real estate market. This is an alarmingly simple question to answer, a state of expansion is what buyers are looking for. When a city expands and the population increases there is a natural increase in the number of homes and subsequently there is an increase in the services and amenities that go along with an increased population base. The real mark of a city that is poised to expand is the speed with which the city keeps up with the expanding population. We have seen no shortage of cities that grew too quickly and rapidly outgrew the services that the area could reasonably provide. This creates a vacuum where the city cannot cope with the number of residents and the whole area suffers.
however, what this has done is shine favorable light on cities that have been prepared for such growth like Austin, Texas.
Austin was perfectly primed for expansion, as the state Capital and one of the major educational centers of Texas there was room for the expansion and the city is blessed with an abundance of amenities so the increased population was easily handled. Now home to over 1.5 million people, Austin has seen a steady influx of almost 275,000 new residents over the past 6 years. This has created an increased need for quality housing and in turn helped to foster a growth in construction related industries. In fact the increased population has helped to spawn a remarkably strong and expanding business sector that has only seen benefit from the additional consumers in the area. For most cities a population jump of 21% in 6 years might be difficult to deal with but Austin has handled the influx with grace, style and a proactive rather than reactive stance on amenities and community services. This proactive attitude is likely one of the cardinal reasons that Austin has been able to handle the expansion as things done in a reactive stance are usually rushed and as such sometimes have integral details overlooked. Come and have a look at what is going on in Austin, you never know; you might just end up staying!
