Home sweet home spurring Waco economy’s growth, with 28% sales increase | Local Business News
Statistics and stories from the front line reveal Greater Waco does not have enough houses, out-of-staters with cash are winning bidding wars, and builders are poised to raise roofs in impressive numbers this summer.
Toss particulars into a hard hat, shake vigorously, and the result is a $288,470 average price for a home sold in February. That is 12% more than the norm in February last year, and about $200,000 more than the average in February 2000, which is economist Karr Ingham’s base year.
Ingham prepares the Greater Waco Economic Index, tallying wins and losses in the retail, lodging, automobile and housing markets while addressing trends in spending and unemployment. He assigns a raw score that reflects his findings. It pegged 146.6 in February, a GWEI record high.
Warts were hard to find in the February report. The month typically lacks punch for those employed in real estate, but 255 existing homes sold during…