Abilene, Texas, home sales have been healthy (Midland, Odessa: for sale, real estate)

[Wonderful Jellal]

Abilene, a former frontier town in west central Texas, steered clear of the housing bubble.
"Our small and midsize communities have fared pretty well," says James Gaines, a research economist at Texas A&M University's Real Estate Center. "Like most of them, Abilene didn't have a run-up in housing prices and didn't have much in a way of a bust."

Here:
Close to Home: Abilene, Texas, home sales have been healthy - USATODAY.com

[TT Dave]

It's always good to hear good news about my hometown!...LOL. I think one thing that has helped us avoid a housing bubble here in Abilene is the fact that we don't have the high volume builders like Pulte or KB homes here. New homes are mostly built by local home builders, with a small percentage of homes being built on speculation, so many of the newer subdivisons here have not been over-built like you see in so many other larger cities. What amazes me is that even older homes are selling well overall. My grandmother, who lives here in Abilene, put her home up for sale several months ago that was built back in the 70's and it sold the next day! The realtor that we worked said that even though she has had a few dips in sales here and there, she is selling homes at about the same rate as she was before the recession hit. My aunt is a real estate agent in Midland and she said that homes sales have been stable out there too.

[Westerner92]

This is nice to hear, especially considering my aunt and uncle just put their house on the market there! In general, cities in West Texas have stable economies that don't have booms, but don't have busts either (though Midland-Odessa might be an exception).

[The Continental]

As said there was no boom, so that is why there is no bust. Once the economy starts bouncing back, Abilene needs to start having more.

[virgil tatro]

Whats Abilene Texas like? is it a good place to raise a family?? I have been through there but thats about it.. We want to move and Texas is a choice we are looking into...

[Willsson]

Virgil, I lived in Abilene from 4th grade til age 21, in 1969. I've always said, 'Abilene is a great place to raise a kid, but you wouldn't want to live there.' The schools then were outstanding but I think things have changed since.

Continental wrote, 'As said there was no boom, so that is why there is no bust.' You're correct. And that is a major problem with Abilene.

A flatline is not evidence of life. The place has been virtually abandoned in the core city and moved to the suburbs. Aside from a few cows and some crops, it's only source of new income is the Air Force which houses the B1 bomber there. Not a lot of those citizens are going to invest in the city's growth. Otherwise the place doesn't attract a lot of opportunity.

[TT Dave]

Originally Posted by virgil tatro

Whats Abilene Texas like? is it a good place to raise a family?? I have been through there but thats about it.. We want to move and Texas is a choice we are looking into...

Like every other city Abilene has it's problems but it is a nice town overall and a very good place to raise a family. The schools here are good as well. If you're a family oriented person you'll like it here. For single people like myself, it's a little on the boring side...lol. You'll find about the same amount of shopping and restaurants here that you would find in most cities of around 100K in population. Winters are usually mild and it's hot in the summer. Job opportunities here are somewhat limited unless you're in a field that's good anywhere, like the medical professions for example. Most good job opportunities will be in the larger metro areas. I was born here, moved away for a while in the late 80's and then moved back here again in the mid 90's so if you have any more specific questions about Abilene feel free to ask me.