Land Market Leaping Into The New Millennium.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

While the national economy is slowing down, Houston appears to be in another growth spurt. Cycles usually last about seven years. However, Houston, has been on a roll for ten years. Most thought that the Houston real estate market would slow down in 1999-2000 after the record years in 1997 and 1998. After gaining [+ or -]55,200 new jobs in 1999, a healthy increase of [+ or -]62,000 jobs was experienced in 2000. Houston ranks fifth in the nation in new job growth over the past ten years.

Several predictions, including those of Ted Jones with Stewart Title, Barton Smith with the University of Houston Center for Public Policy, Bill Gilmer with the Federal Reserve Board in Houston and Jim Kollaer with the Houston Partnership anticipate employment increases ranging from 3.50% to [+ or -]4.0%, resulting in estimated net non-farm payroll employment increases of 80,000 to 85,000 new jobs for 2001.

Job growth appears to be fueling the Houston economy. Job growth, …