Home sales up in San Antonio
A new recent study shows that even when the rest of the country is facing difficulties, San Antonio is riding the crest of the economic tsunami. Long known by locals as being one of the best places to live, it seems most people from other states realize they’ve been missing out too, and the massive 6% surge in home sales in December is a precursor to Texas not just being the biggest state in size but also the biggest in population by 2012.
Californian Josh Petersen, a recent immigrant to Texas, explains: “In San Diego my 200 square foot apartment sold for $1.2 million and here it’s like, whoa, no way dude and they’re like giving this sh** away. I got 5 houses – 3 on the west, one in Alamo Heights and those GM guys up on 410 gave me a free apartment with a new Chevy.” When Josh’s dot-com business burst in December he said he was “like bummer” and looked back to the Great State his parents grew up in. Happily destroying his California driver’s license, DMV superintertendent Patricia Lopez accepted Josh back into his birth state: “It’s especially the young, you know? They think that grass is greener but no way, they come running back when the going gets tough.”
Economist Duane Tolesky just released some research that shows if you include only companies based in San Antonio, there is no decline in the Dow Jones Industrial index, despite a 40% drop including non-San Antonio firms. And with so many businesses starting up daily, the Texas State Comptroller’s Office is having a hard time keeping up with applications for new sales tax identifiers, hiring as many as 400 new staff to cope with the demand.
Mayor Rick Hardberger brushed away the news with a defiantly-knowing hand in a press conference today, and businesses are celebrating the exponential growth of the San Antonian economy. Even as the country is headed south economically, its people seem also to be headed to the center of growth and activity. For new businesses in the new economy, San Antonio is the place to be. “It’s abundantly clear that the Riverwalk is not just a source of fun and entertainment, but also business and innovation too,” said Commerce and Industry Chamber executive, Dina Vascos during a lunchtime drinks session at Vines Wine Bar, just off the world-famous San Antonio Riverwalk.
