Builder magazine’s list of “Healthiest Housing Markets for 2009.”

The Good News! Congratulations, Texas! Five Texas cities swept the top spots on Builder magazine’s list of “Healthiest Housing Markets for 2009.” Houston ranked first, Austin second, Fort Worth third, San Antonio fourth and Dallas fifth. Texas continues its trend of weathering the recession better than most other states. The state’s major metros top the nation in home price appreciation over the last year according to a study done by California’s First American CoreLogic, Inc.

Austin–Round Rock leads the country’s largest core-based statistical areas (CBSA) in home price appreciation with a 3.7 percent increase in 2008, according to First American CoreLogic. Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown experienced a price appreciation of 3.3 percent over the last year, putting it right behind. Dallas-Plano-Irving homes appreciated 1.92 percent and San Antonio’s homes 0.17 percent, putting them third and fourth in the nation.

Of the 958 smaller communities the study observed, College Station–Bryan experienced the sixth highest home price appreciation, with an increase of 6.78 percent. Overall, Texas homes saw an appreciation of 1.83 percent in 2008, putting the Lone Star State sixth among all state rankings.