Despite Houstons economy, we are not immune to the national psychological recession.

We are lucky to live, work and play in Houston, and if you like population growth, think of an overlay the size of the city of Los Angeles coming to Houston in the next decade. Theres a huge real estate opportunity waiting to happen.  Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States, located in a culturally diverse metropolitan region, which is home to 5.6 million residents. The city is growing at twice the national pace. It has one of the lowest costs of living, an educated workforce and is home to 88 consulates, which is a testament to its international influence.

For a concise picture of the Houston economy, go to www.houston.org/rankings and you will find 26 national publication rankings of first place in job growth, business climate, health care and lower cost of living. The factors ranked are key drivers of any real estate market, and one of the reasons that despite a temporary slow down, Houston still boasts a positive median and average sales price. It also indicates that today is probably the best time to invest in real estate in Houston.

> This year could close out  the same or slightly above the third greatest year in residential history, 2005 based on the similar number of sales found July YTD 2008 as those found in July YTD 2005 and a 4.725% higher number of units pending this year than those found in 2005.  We are currently experiencing a more positive real estate market than 2005 in terms of higher dollar volume sold, higher average sales price, higher median sales price and more pending contracts July YTD in comparison to July YTD 2005.