KLTV 7 News Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville |Economist with home builders association says local housing market is good

Economist with home builders association says local housing market is good

If you build it, they will come. Many of you know that saying from the movie Field of Dreams, but one housing economist says the same phrase applies to home building here. For years now, East Texas has been told our housing market is doing very well. Wednesday morning, KLTV 7's Molly Reuter talked to an economist with the National Association of Home Builders about why that's the case, and how it effects our economy.

Mortgages, foreclosures, homes for sale. These days there's not a lot of good news coming out of our nation's housing market.

But this afternoon. Dr. Elliot Eisenberg of the National Association of Home Builders had positive news for a group of Tyler builders.

"If Eastern Texas was the national housing market there wouldn't be a problem."

Eisenberg gave a power point presentation outlining a recent economic impact study.

In 2007, he says Smith County built 883 single-family homes, which he says will generate a $127.7 million in revenue compared to $117.7 million in costs.

These numbers, Eisenberg says, shows, "Home building pays its way."

"These homes are extremely expensive homes, they are big, they are fancy. These are great new homes for the community," said Eisenberg. "They are going to pay 3 times as more in property taxes. These homes collectively pay their way and more and they subsidized existing homes."

In the past year, Eisenberg says Texas has seen a slight decline in construction and flat prices. But compared to other parts of the country like Florida and California, flat is good. And local builders agree.

"I don't think we have reached the bubble like other areas have you know where they were borrowing tons of money and building more homes than they needed."

And Eisenberg says people are moving to Texas. Not for beachfront property, but to raise a family, or retire.

"By contrast like Texas, which is just a normal place live, which is driven by demographics and job growth and household formations." said Eisenberg. "Tyler specifically has a great medical facilities, educational facilities, everything that the retirees will want in our town, so we gave a great inflow of people here."

And as long as people come, builders say they will continue to build.

Molly Reuter, reporting. mreuter@kltv.com