Houston Strategies

$2 billion for 2mph, Houston beats Dallas for pandemic in-migration and home construction, Phoenix growth stopped by a lack of water

 Some smaller items this week:

• NYT: The Places Most Affected by Remote Workers’ Moves Around the Country. Houston attracted far more migration during the pandemic than Dallas, and almost as many as Austin! (data from the 'Look Up Migration Data Where You Live' section)
• This is just nuts: $2 billion taxpayer dollars and 14 years to improve Amtrak train speeds 2mph (!!) between Chicago and St. Louis!
• Houston #1 for 2023 new home construction (CultureMap story)
• Phoenix has long been a close competitor to Houston for fastest growing metros (closer escape for Californians, lol), but it looks like that's about to come to an end as they run out of readily available water: 

"Arizona has determined that there is not enough groundwater for all of the housing construction that has already been approved in the Phoenix area, and will stop developers from building some new subdivisions, a sign of looming trouble in the West and other places where overuse, drought and climate change are straining water supplies.

The decision by state officials very likely means the beginning of the end to the explosive development that has made the Phoenix area the fastest growing metropolitan region in the country. …

The decision means cities and developers must look for alternative sources of water to support future development — for example, by trying to buy access to river water from farmers or Native American tribes, many of whom are facing their own shortages. That rush to buy water is likely to rattle the real estate market in Arizona, making homes more expensive and threatening the relatively low housing costs that had made the region a magnet for people from across the country.

“Housing affordability will be a challenge moving forward,” said Spencer Kamps, vice president of legislative affairs for the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, an industry group. He noted that even as the state limits home construction, commercial buildings, factories and other kinds of development can continue."

Labels: census, development, migration, rail, remote work

posted by Tory Gattis @ 5:10 PM