The State of Texas is one of the biggest in the United States. It is ranked number 2 both by population and area. It has the most number of cities with population over 1 million with Houston ranking 4th largest city in the United States and the largest city in Texas.
Texas is located in south central part of the United States and has a very unique and divers landscape. It is located in multiple climate zones, so the weather changes from county to county. You can see some snow in the winter and very warm weather during summer. Precipitation varies widely as well from place to place. For example, in El Paso area the rain is rarely seen but on southeast of Texas you might see lots of rainy days. Texas is also considered the home of tornadoes, as it experiences around 140 tornadoes every year. Hurricanes are common for Texas as well, the latest and strongest one is being hurricane Ike, preceded by hurricane Rita in 2005.
Economy & Education
Texas has a great location and vast territories that bring in many economical as well as cultural benefits. Mainly Texas economy relies on its oil producing industry which was started in early 1900s and spurred a rapid economic growth. Since then, Texas economy has been greatly diversified and now includes such industries as agriculture, technology, mining, biomedical research and even commerce. Texas has 2nd largest gross product in the U.S..
Although Texas enjoys a stable economical growth, its healthcare and education have lots of room for improvement. Texas Healthcare system, is ranked among worst systems in the United States. One-fourth of the population does not hold any type of insurance. Many people are suffering from obesity and Texas ranks high in any national rankings that deal with obesity rates. Some of the causes for this situation are highest rate in the nation of illegal immigration, high poverty rate as well as bad political choices.
Texas' secondary education seems to be underfinanced and in some areas shows statistics below the national average. For example, Texas spends around $7,500 per student every year, when national average is $9,300. Texas pays teachers $38,100 when national average is higher. Student to teacher ratio is below national average as well. The situation in higher education is a bit better and Texas is known for its good State universities as well as private colleges.
Housing Market
As whole nation is suffering from a severe recession and real estate markets experiencing major declines, Texas seems to be less hit compared to other parts of the United States. Of course housing market is going south, but the dive is not that bad and in some areas of Texas, real estate agents actually reporting price appreciation.
Sales of homes is dropping but it does not compare with what is going on for example in California or Nevada. Although, last year Texas created almost 230,000 additional jobs, today unemployment is rising and as other states have already experienced, the foreclosures will increase as well.
Construction of new homes in major Texas cities is declining, for example in Huston it was cut by more than half. Dallas has a weakening housing market as well and is starting to see house decline in house prices. Real Estate analysts predicting that both Huston and Dallas will experience 8%-9% price declines in 2009.
It rural parts of Texas, the real estate market has been behaving differently. Number of homes sold is somewhat decreasing but at the same time prices are showing an increase. However, due to the mortgage crisis and banks not lending as much as they used to, now it will be harder and harder to find financing in these areas, so there will be less homes bought which will send rural Texas real estate markets into a deflationary cycle as well.
Property Taxes
It could turn out to be a great investment to buy a home in Texas. In general it is considered that owning a house is a great benefit as it allows for many tax deduction. If you purchase you property in Texas you get even more benefits, in Texas you actually can save on taxes. In Texas there is no state tax and you pay only once to your local taxing body. Moreover, not only you pay just once, but you also have a say where your taxes should go. If you are active in your community life you can certainly affect where your tax money should go - local schools, healthcare or other public services.
If you are looking to relocate to the State of Texas or just trying to buy a good investment property, please make sure you visit our database of real estate agents that can help you with your search and purchase. Moreover, to find the house of your dreams in Texas, please visit our nationwide MLS listings.
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