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Get Out and Vote Today!

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I Voted Sticker

If you haven’t already voted in early voting, today is the day – Election Day. We at Kimberly Howell Properties encourage you to get out there today and vote. Regardless of your personal politics or beliefs, it is important to vote and have your voice heard. Our system isn’t always perfect and our politics can be divided, but voting is a right that we all can and should exercise. If you don’t know where to vote, you can check with your county for the local polling location (Bexar County has a handy lookup feature) or vote.org has a national look up feature. Take a few minutes of your day and head to the polls and be a part of the process. Thanks for voting!

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Texas Economy Slows Growth Rate

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Slow Growth

Since 2012, the Texas economy has been on a strong path, beating US growth rates month after month, but it looks like the Texas economy has started to slow down. Since August of 2015, the Texas economy’s growth rate has dipped below the national growth rate and continued its decline through the end of the year. While the numbers are showing signs of slowing down, the comparison of Texas and the US is also being affected by growth on the national scale. From December 2014 to December 2015, the state added 169,000 nonagricultural jobs with an annual growth rate of 1.4%; the US had a growth rate of 1.9% during the same period. Nongovernment jobs shows a wider gap, with 142,800 jobs added, an annual growth rate of 1.4%, compared to the national 2.2%. During this period, Texas experienced a slight increase in its unemployment rate from 4.6% to 4.7%, which is still below the national average, which decreased from 5.6% to 5%. You can see a full breakdown of the numbers on a state level as well as by metro area in the Texas Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University’s Monthly Review of the Texas Economy (PDF file).

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Texas Ranks 2nd As Relocation Destination

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Moving Boxes

Texas continued its strength in relocation according to the 2015 Texas Relocation Report (PDF) released by the Texas Association of REALTORS®. Texas ranked 2nd (behind Florida) for out of state resident population gains in 2014, with 538,572 people moving to Texas from other states. Out of state residents came mostly from California (63,591), followed by Florida (40,930), Oklahoma (25,096), Louisiana (23,805), and Illinois (23,258) based on US Census Bureau data. Don’t let the large number fool you into thinking Texas gained a half a million people though, as Texas also ranked 3rd for the number of residents moving out of state (California took the top spot, with Florida coming in 2nd). This loss of 435,107 Texas residents to other states resulted in a net gain of 103,465 out of state residents in 2014, which is still an impressive amount of people moving to the Lone Star State.

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Despite Oil Concerns, Jobs Keep Coming

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Oil Refinery

Even with the oil concerns that hit the Texas economy as the oil and gas industry slowed, Texans kept a bright outlook on the future and rightfully so. In the year from June 2014 to June 2015, Texas added 276,400 nonagricultural jobs (nongovernment jobs accounted for 253,900). While the mining and logging did not add jobs over the year with the slow down, all other industry segments except manufacturing saw increases. The annual growth rate for Texas through June 2015 stands at 2.6% (private sector, nongovernment) while the nation is at 2.4%. This brings the Texas unemployment rate to 4.2%, compared with 5% at the same time last year, while the US fell from 6.1% to 5.3%.

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Texas Unemployment and Job Growth

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Texas Unemployment

Texas unemployment has once again fallen, down now to 4.2% in March compared to 5.3% in March 2014. As job growth continues with all Texas industries having more jobs in March 2014 than in the prior year. The construction segment led the way, with transportation, warehousing and utilities, leisure and hospitality, education and health services, and mining and logging following. The annual growth rate for Texas is now 2.8% (March 2014 to March 2015), while the US stands at 2.3% for the same period. Texas unemployment has shrunk with the state’s ability to continue to create jobs. Once again, Midland leads the state in unemployment rates.

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Texas Approves More Than $2 Billion in Roadworks

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Texas Roadworks

Texas roadworks will see a significant increase in the coming year, as the Texas Transportation Commission approved 201 road projects worth more than $2 billion in the state. As early as March, TxDOT (Texas Department of Transportation) will begin awarding construction projects to contractors. The $2 billion comes largely in part thanks to Proposition 1, which gave the state $1.74 billion to spend on Texas roadworks.

Some of the projects include more than 800 miles of rehabilitated highways, 500 miles of new highway lanes, replacement of 64 bridges, and 18 lane widening projects that will result in 159 miles of passing lanes in rural areas. The energy boom in Texas will receive benefits totalling around 30% of Proposition 1 funding, with roadworks planned to improve, repair, or rehabilitate areas affected by increased traffic (particularly heavy truck traffic) in areas where the energy sector has taken off in recent years.

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