While job loss continues to inhibit housing sales in parts of the Dallas/Fort Worth area of North Texas, Frisco area Realtors believe the town's business infrastructure and overall community appeal will make a comeback, and that buyers who get in now will be very glad they did.

"Frisco is a thriving community with a small town feeling," says Realtor Janet Crisco. "Frisco has something for everyone! The city offers homes for sale in every price range. Frisco is the fastest growing city in Texas and second in the U.S. In 1990, only 6,000 residents called this town home. Frisco now boasts a population approaching 60,000. In the beginning, it was a community centered around the railroad. Now it is home to great shopping, sports facilities, entertainment venues, quality schools, office parks, golf courses and many master planned communities."

Says Realtor Doug Browning, "Although interest rates are going up, activity seems to be going up as well. There is a lot of inventory currently on the market and when listing you should keep this in mind and put your best foot forward."

"Frisco is the fastest growing city in Texas, and you will find that it is a community made up of thousands of volunteers who support the city, schools, churches and community organizations. Frisco has 19 park sites, spanning more than 550 acres. The intersection of Preston Road and State Highway 121 is the southern gateway to the city of Frisco. Frisco is ten minutes north of Legacy Business Park, home of J. C. Penney, Electronic Data Systems, Murata Business Machines, Dr. Pepper and Frito Lay. Both Dallas/Fort Worth and Love Field Airports are within a 45-minute drive, making the trip to either coast only four hours away! With almost 1,750 employees serving the needs of more than 200 students, Frisco ISD is the largest single employer in Frisco. During the past five years, FISD has grown by 22-25 percent annually in student population; this past year enrollment grew by 30 percent, indicating that growth is accelerating."

Baumann explains, "In June of last year, employment conditions languished and unemployment rose while the housing market carried on a merry pace. Well, here we are again. Employment conditions languished in June and the unemployment rate rose to its highest level in over 9 years, but the housing market promises to log in another record year. So what gives with the contradiction in trends? Low mortgage rates dropping to new historic lows partly explain it, but viewing the big picture in a historical context (again) may refresh our memories of how the strong population growth continues to impact the housing market. Since the early 1990s, the workforce has grown due to both population growth and economic expansion. And, as a result of that growth, the number of people still employed remains larger than a decade ago even though more than 2 million jobs have been shed since the latter part of 2000. Therefore, unless both mortgage rates and unemployment rise considerably from current levels, the housing market will continue to buck the trends of a stagnant job market and weak economic rebound.

"Though we still believe negative demand/supply and employment/permit ratios are cautionary indicators of future slowing, we believe that given the current low mortgage rates and size of today's workforce (vs. 10 years ago) the unemployment rate would have to rise considerably higher from its present level of 6.4 percent in order for the housing industry to be greatly impacted," says Baumann. "The fact remains that housing is woefully undersupplied in many areas across the country, and that strong market activity still occurs wherever local housing demand combines favorably with low mortgage rates."

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Published: September 8, 2003

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