Market Changes

Deep in the heart of Texas, the housing market is hot, but is it hot enough for big builders? Witness Houston-the No. 1 market on BIG BUILDER'S 2006 list of the hottest markets for new housing in America-pushing last year's top place holders, Phoenix and Atlanta, out of the way. No surprise there, according to James Diffley, group managing director of U.S. Regional Services for Global Insight, who ranked the top 100 housing markets for BIG BUILDER for the third year in a row. "The big thing is that Texas has reasserted itself as a growth center," Diffley says.

Oil helps and so does affordability, not to mention jobs and the domestic and international in-migration of people to the Lone Star state. It is ironic that the relocation of thousands of New Orleans residents to Houston in the wake of one of the worst hurricanes in U.S. history spurred growth, too. In March, the Texas Workforce Commission revised Houston's employment statistics substantially upward, indicating that job growth was about twice the pace the agency had previously reported. Riding the wave of a good economy and a strong energy sector, Houston is expected to gain nearly 79,000 jobs this year, growth that translates into twice the national rate.

Here are the top 100 cities for housing in the United States showing housing starts and median prices for 2006 from Global Insight.

		Housing Starts 2006 (thousands)	Median Existing Home Price - 2006
1	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX	72,105	$108,848
2	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA	71,935	$176,373
3	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	65,282	$121,091
4	Raleigh-Cary, NC	16,678	$169,789
5	Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC	23,905	$145,481
6	Las Vegas-Paradise, NV	43,740	$262,140
7	Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ	60,749	$215,544
8	McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX	7,549	$55,144
9	Austin-Round Rock, TX	21,642	$147,513
10	Reno-Sparks, NV	6,249	$120,123
11	Des Moines, IA	6,304	$131,121
12	Boise City-Nampa, ID	10,055	$162,460
13	Orlando-Kissimmee, FL	33,728	$187,458
14	Jacksonville, FL	21,171	$166,350
15	Salt Lake City, UT	9,653	$196,671
16	San Antonio, TX	18,592	$96,944
17	Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, FL	13,437	$224,605
18	Ogden-Clearfield, UT	5,083	$163,566
19	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	47,624	$294,221
20	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro, TN	16,627	$155,437
21	Colorado Springs, CO	7,275	$197,408
22	Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO	6,941	$128,635
23	Richmond, VA	10,044	$158,625
24	Durham, NC	4,760	$162,773
25	Indianapolis, IN	17,790	$140,819
26	Denver-Aurora, CO	21,585	$227,778
27	Huntsville, AL	4,960	$120,440
28	Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville, CA	16,038	$358,414
29	Columbia, SC	8,124	$116,151
30	Kansas City, MO-KS	15,536	$138,781
31	Charleston-North Charleston, SC	10,121	$163,585
32	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	31,067	$161,171
33	Tucson, AZ	11,748	$173,703
34	Bakersfield, CA	6,808	$190,768
35	Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA	7,023	$125,766
36	Dover, DE	2,194	$166,519
37	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	25,489	$223,602
38	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL	41,214	$246,573
39	Albuquerque, NM	7,877	$160,113
40	Memphis, TN-MS-AR	10,968	$109,797
41	Greenville, SC	6,016	$116,347
42	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	31,842	$388,246
43	Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA	16,967	$252,817
44	El Paso, TX	4,512	$89,185
45	Stockton, CA	5,238	$316,376
46	Fresno, CA	5,502	$227,641
47	Carson City, NV	206	$281,303
48	Wichita, KS	3,765	$97,365
49	Madison, WI	4,124	$201,707
50	Anchorage, AK	1,915	$221,342
51	Baton Rouge, LA	6,841	$128,153
52	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC [*	10,722	$205,964
53	Oklahoma City, OK	8,544	$100,803
54	Greensboro-High Point, NC	6,625	$120,799
55	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	24,342	$304,323
56	Modesto, CA	3,214	$293,346
57	Tulsa, OK	5,335	$97,538
58	Manchester-Nashua, NH	2,326	$227,362
59	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	3,253	$514,171
60	Winston-Salem, NC	4,028	$124,468
61	Lexington-Fayette, KY	4,612	$140,280
62	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA	13,823	$463,087
63	Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC	3,665	$108,626
64	Birmingham-Hoover, AL	6,578	$121,627
65	Jackson, MS	2,989	$103,240
66	Boulder, CO	878	$301,087
67	Columbus, OH	10,646	$153,667
68	Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR	5,090	$105,381
69	Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN	12,684	$144,690
70	St. Louis, MO-IL	15,711	$139,107
71	Fairbanks, AK	189	$177,633
72	Trenton-Ewing, NJ	1,619	$263,317
73	Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI	50,055	$233,157
74	Knoxville, TN	5,068	$127,473
75	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	5,281	$670,334
76	Louisville, KY-IN	5,400	$129,136
77	Honolulu, HI	3,382	$534,858
78	Chattanooga, TN-GA	3,329	$115,880
79	Ann Arbor, MI	976	$223,515
80	Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI	3,787	$138,546
81	Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME	4,354	$214,616
82	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	15,028	$623,092
83	Fort Wayne, IN	2,372	$105,719
84	Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA	2,500	$145,155
85	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	24,058	$215,384
86	Baltimore-Towson, MD	10,218	$255,756
87	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ	5,779	$192,922
88	Lancaster, PA	2,421	$170,564
89	Spokane, WA	2,718	$162,487
90	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA	30,667	$471,942
91	Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY	1,751	$282,300
92	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	4,445	$235,805
93	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI	13,060	$166,612
94	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT	2,972	$457,822
95	Norwich-New London, CT	1,282	$246,838
96	Pittsburgh, PA	7,503	$112,680
97	Worcester, MA	3,499	$248,576
98	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH	15,340	$357,398
99	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI	5,442	$191,668
100	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA	51,586	$407,405