"Of all macroeconomic influences affecting real estate, the one factor generally considered more important than other is employment" - William B. Bruggeman, Ph.D.

I had the pleasure of having Dr. Bruggeman as my professor for my Real Estate Investments class during my Masters at SMU and this concept of having a strong economic base aka employment, was the foundation of macroeconomics in real estate.

According to the Texas Workforce Commission and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Texas economy grew by 19,900 jobs in July. We are fortunate to live in an area with low volatility in our economy. Unfortunately, we have weather hot enough to bake cookies in your car while you shop at a mall, but I digress.

We have a lower cost of living here compared to many other parts of the country, with all the perks of living in big cities or close to metropolitan cities. With big cities, comes a large population stimulating the markets as well.

More jobs and more people are a plus in the real estate world. According to Mark Doutzer, Chief Economist and Director of Research at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M, "approximately 68 percent of all jobs in Texas are located in DFW, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. Nearly 90 percent of all Texas jobs are located in our 25 metro areas. That means just 11 percent of jobs are outside of our largest cities."