Happy New Year.  Its the second day of 2008 and the debate has begun…or shall we say continues.  Is this the year the National Housing Market starts to rebound?  Or is it another year of decline? 

Entertaining debate on Fox News about the housing market in 2008.

We all know the National Housing Market has been a hot topic in the press over the past year.  One big problem is the housing market is not national.  It is local.  There are 1000’s of local housing markets all over the country.  All with different trends for 2008.

Take my former hometown, Orlando, FL.  The Orlando market, once a golden real estate market, is now suffering from the investor and builder bubble.  A former colleague and good friend of mine writes a real estate blog about the Orlando real estate market.  He posted an article today about with information from the The Florida Association of Realtors. 

Now take our local area, Beaumont, TX.  Our market is going strong.  The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M keeps statistics on what is happening in local markets throughout Texas.

"Did you know Houston is now the largest housing market in the country?"

Over 44,000 permits for single family homes were issued between October 2006- 2007.  That beat out Atlanta, Georgia by over 10,000 permits. 

With job expansion at the refineries, low unemployment, and an increasing population the outlook for the Beaumont Real Estate Market is one of the best in the country.

"Enjoy listening to the experts debate but don’t let those national housing market stories get you worrying." 

You are lucky to be living in SE Texas where home values are expected to increase in 2008.