Two New Headquarter Announcements for Austin
Opportunity Austin, the Austin Chamber’s five-year economic development initiative to create new jobs and increase payroll in the Central Texas region, recently announced the relocation of two new company headquarters to the Central Texas region.
These relocations characterize not only big wins for the wireless and digital media industies but also show a continuing stability in the economy of the Central Texas region.
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Central Texas Economy In Perspective
by Beverly Kerr, Chamber Vice President of Research
While headlines such as last week's about the latest monthly numbers for Austin home sales and prices can inspire debate about whether we are defying the national trends or following them, 2008 will see a volume of sales exceeding 24,000 homes. 2008 will represent the 4th highest total of homes sold in a year over the last 25+ years. This is lower than the last three years, however, home sales nationally are at their lowest level since 1999. Year-to-date, 2008 is down 18% over the same period in 2007, however, the Real Estate Center's latest projection for 2008 only puts sales off 3,460 or 14% from last years total.
There was an average of 4 months inventory remaining on the market in Austin during 2007 which increased to 6 months by September 2008. Nationally inventories currently represent a 10-month supply, while 4-5 months is considered typical.
Average home prices in Austin have held steady based on estimated 2008 data and median price has increased 3%. Nationally, the median has dropped 9% and in some areas of the United States, home values are down substantially more.
More information on Central Texas economic indicators can be found at www.austinchamber.com.
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State of Education in Austin Will Highlight Efforts to Increase "Home-grown" Talent
This year's theme for the Chamber's State of Education in Austin event, "Tomorrow's Future Rooted in Our Community," highlights the need to increase the percentage of our "home-grown" population attending higher education. Anthony O. Befi, Vice President, High Performance Computing System Development, IBM Senior Location Executive for Austin and the State of Texas, will be the keynote speaker and will discuss talent development from a global perspective.
The goal of the 2008 State of Education event is to inform the Greater Austin business community about ongoing initiatives and the end-of-year status. Before an audience of key Austin business and education leaders, the Chamber will lay out a shared strategy for achieving an enrollment increase, provide baseline information on the state of education and annually “grade our own paper” toward success in 2010. The State of Education event has been sold out each of the last two years. Register now! Sponsored by AT&T, IBM, Seton Family of Hospitals, University of Phoenix and UT System.
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NWBC End of Year Celebration
The year is nearly over, and in celebration of the successes of 2008 the Northwest Business Council will be gathering one last time on Wednesday, December 3 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Cool River Cafe, 4001 W. Parmer. This year's Council featured many great speakers and presentations which helped raise membership to more than 200 members. Cool River Café will provide an ideal backdrop for the last chance this year to meet other NWBC members, enjoy great food and drinks in a casual and friendly atmosphere. Register now.
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CenTex RCIC Application Workshop and ETF Deadline
The CenTex RCIC will be hosting an ETF Applicant Workshop on Wednesday, December 17 from 3-5 p.m. in the Chamber Boardroom. This free event is designed to educate interested applicants for the Texas Emerging Technology Fund on the application process and criteria. Please RSVP to MK Holody, mholody@austinchamber.com.
The next quarterly submission deadline for the ETF is 5pm on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. Please see www.centexrcic.org for more details or contact MK Holody at mholody@austinchamber.com or 512.322.5677.
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Why I Joined the Chamber...
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"To support Austin businesses, understand the Austin marketplace and to meet and build relationships with other Austin business owners." Debbie Johnson, President/CEO
— M&S Solutions
Join now and start receiving the full benefits of the networking business community. Call 322.5618 or email Member Info.
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Check out new members and articles submitted by Chamber Members here.
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