Stewart Title chief economist Ted Jones joined us at Bisnow's 6th annual Capital Markets Summit for his 38th presentation of the year and gave an overview of the Houston economy (it’s doing better than you might think, and definitely better than the rest of the country thinks). We snapped him (far right) with Stewart Title’s Julie Kleine and Alison Haschke and the Houston Group’s Lawrence Schanzmeyer. Ted’s quick thoughts on Houston real estate:
     • The retail boom is just starting. That’s partially driven by Millennials, whose job growth in 2014 was 60% higher than everyone else. They’re starting to move out of their parents’ basements and will need to buy dishes and blankets for their apartments.
     • 2015 will be the best leisure, travel and hospitality year in decades.

     • Office investment sales dropped in 2014 but it was a reduction of supply, not demand. Landlords were pushing rents and making great income, so they didn’t want to sell.
     • Single-family activity isn’t that related to oil prices. January was a record for Houston home sales, even though it was six months into oil’s freefall, and two months after energy layoffs started. We’re selling more homes than ever before in history.

Ted shared his slideshow for anyone who couldn't attend our event—click here to see the presentation and here for a breakdown of how Texas' tax environment compares to the rest of the US.