According to a recent report on home price data from First American CoreLogic, Texas was one of a dozen states to show home price increases in the past year, during a time when national resale prices fell 11.6 percent.

Texas placed fifth out of 12 states showing positive or flat appreciation. At 1.83 percent appreciation, Texas followed West Virginia (5.69 percent), New York (3.9 percent), North Dakota (3.78 percent) and South Dakota (2.32 percent).

Trailing Texas were Montana (.5 percent), Vermont (.23 percent), Kansas (.22 percent), Missouri (.16 percent), Iowa (.12 percent), Louisiana (.1 percent) and Colorado (0 percent).

Topping the list of price depreciation were Nevada (-26.9 percent), California (-26.7 percent), Arizona, (-21.3 percent), Rhode Island (-19.7 percent) and Florida (-19.5 percent).

Among the country's 35 largest metropolitan markets, three of the only four showing overall appreciation were based in Texas. They included: Austin-Round Rock at 3.92 percent, Houston-Sugarland-Baytown at 3.58 percent, and Dallas-Plano-Irving at 1.54 percent. Denver-Aurora also showed positive appreciation at .97 percent.

According to the study, the number of metropolitan markets experiencing price declines was, by far, the highest level tracked by the Loan Performance HPI. As of January 2009, more than 700, or nearly three-quarters, of all metropolitan markets were experiencing home price depreciation, up from 254 markets experiencing depreciation in December 2007 and 394 in June 2008.

Since US home prices peaked in July 2006, they have declined 21.2 percent on a cumulative basis and are currently back to the lowest price level since March 2004.

Source: First American CoreLogic

Fort Worth was named as having the third healthiest housing market for 2009 in the nation. Houston ranked first, Austin second, Fort Worth third, San Antonio fourth and Dallas fifth. Builder, February 2009

Fort Worth and Arlington are ranked as the least likely in the country to experience home-price depreciation in the next two years. PMI Group, Inc., October 2008

Dallas / Fort Worth is the fastest growing Metropolitan area in the nation according to the U.S. Census Bureau

“Fort Worth is the nation’s fifth best city for jobs.” Forbes, 2008

1. Beaumont to l Paso : 742 miles

2. Beaumont to Chicago : 770 miles

3. El Paso is closer to California than to Dallas.

4. World's first rodeo was in Pecos , July 4, 1883.

5. The Flagship Hotel in Galveston is the only hotel in North America built over water.

6. The Heisman Trophy w as named after John William Heisman who was the first full-time coach at Rice University in Houston.

7. Brazoria County has more species of birds than any other ar a in North America.

8. Aransas Wildlife Refuge is the winter home of North America 's only remaining flock of whooping cranes.

9. Jalapeno jelly originated in Lake Jackson in 1978.

10. The worst natural disaster in U.S . history was in 1900, caused by a hurricane, in which over 8,000 lives were lost on Galveston Island.

11. The first word spoken from the moon, July 20, 1969, was " Houston .."

12. King Ranch in South Texas is larger than Rhode Island.

13. Tropical Storm Claudette brought a U.S. rainfall record of 43" in 24 hours in and around Alvin in July of 1979.

14. Texas is the only state to enter the U.S. by TREATY, (known as the Constitution of 1845 by the Republic of Texas to enter the Union) instead of by annexation. This allows the Texas Flag to fly at the same height as the U.S. Flag, and it may choose to divide itself into 5 states.

15. A Live Oak tree near Fulton is estimated to be 1500 years old.

16. Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in the state.

17. Dr Pepper was invented in Waco in 1885. There is nbsp;no period in Dr Pepper.

18. Texas has had six capital cities: Washington-on-the Brazos, Harrisburg, Galveston, Velasco, West Columbia and Austin.

19. The Capitol Dome in Austin is the only dome in the U.S. which is taller than the Capitol Building in Washington DC (by 7 feet).

20. The name " Texas " comes from the Hasini Indian word "tejas" meaning friends. Tejas is not Spanish for Texas.

21. The State Mascot is the Armadillo (an interesting bit of trivia about the armadillo is they always have four babies. They have one egg, which splits into four, and they either ha e four males or four females).

22. The first domed stadium in the U.S. was the Astrodome in Houston.

Here is some information from a RE/MAX newsletter I receive regularly. It's good news to hear in this uncertain time.

The Good News! Congratulations, Texas!

Five Texas cities swept the top spots on Builder magazine’s list of “Healthiest Housing Markets for 2009". Houston ranked first, Austin second, Fort Worth third, San Antonio fourth and Dallas fifth.

Texas continues its trend of weathering the recession better than most other states. The state’s major metros top the nation in home price appreciation over the last year, according to a study done by California’s First American CoreLogic, Inc.

In an effort to help Texas consumers to understand how completely different Texas real estate markets are when compared to other markets across the nation, the Texas Association of Realtors recently released a series of "Facts about Texas Real Estate." The following highlights are key components of that statistical information.
The median sales price of a Texas home in December 2008 was $140,900, down 4 percent from December 2007. The median price for the entire year of 2008 was $146,900, unchanged from 2007.

By comparison, the California median sales price in November 2008 was $285,680, down 41.8 percent from November 2007. The Arizona average sales price in December 2008 was $192,908, down 38 percent from $313,000 in December 2007.

Over the four year period from December 2004 to December 2008, the average home sales price in Texas has increased $15,600. Home price appreciation in Texas has not fallen below zero in the last 16 years.

Texas was 24th on the list of foreclosure rates for 2008. More than 40 percent of all foreclosure filings occurred in California and Florida. While the 2008 foreclosure rate in Texas was up 13.87 percent compared to 2007 and 14.96 percent compared to 2006, Arizona's foreclosure rate was up 203 percent from 2007 and up 655 percent from 2006.

While consumer confidence in Texas cannot remain completely impervious to national "gloom and doom" news, those "in the know" can rest assured that the realities of real estate economies in Texas are vastly different than those experienced in other parts of the world and highlighted regularly by the national media.

Source: Texas Association of Realtors