Here's some crazy talk: Across Texas, there's been a more than 31%  increase year-over-year for new actively bidding construction projects, compared with a 4.5% increase in activity for the same period last year.

“We are definitely seeing a continuation of last year’s increased construction activity," says Colliers International North Texas project management SVP Howard Templin. The architectural firms are very busy designing and drawing up new projects; this means more construction starts in about a year, he says. Construction project data research firm, BidClerk, shows that private projects, too, have increased 8.9% from Q4 ‘13 when total contract values in Texas topped out at $5.5B. BidClerk reported on more than 8,500 active bidding opportunities last year in Texas, totaling more than $23B.

Dallas is without a doubt one of the top three cities in Texas for construction, and with new projects on the boards, it will continue to be strong next year. (If you haven't invested in hardware stores, now might be the time.) For the City of Dallas, total contract value in ‘13 was $7.3B, with more than 3,000 actively bidding opportunities. There was also a 29% increase for new actively bidding construction projects, compared to a -2.8% drop or the same period last year. Total Q4 contract value for Dallas was $1.7B. Howard also projects: 6% inflation in costs this year.