All together 48 out of 50 state economies grew in 2014, according to new data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, with the largest growth states mostly west of the Mississippi. Topping the list for the year was North Dakota, which experienced annual growth of 6.3 percent state GDP. Texas was number 2 on the list with a whopping 5.2 percent growth, which meant intense growth in a lot larger real estate markets than anything the Dakotas has to offer: Houston, DFW, San Antonio and Austin. Wyoming and West Virginia tied for third at 5.1 percent growth each (by comparison, the U.S. economy as a whole grew 2.2 percent for the year).
What a good 2014 also means is that 2015 is going to be a letdown for these states and their real estate markets (though Texas and Colorado, as a much more diversified economies, probably won’t hurt quite as much).
As an industry, real estate and rental and leasing grew 1.5 percent in 2014, down slightly from 1.6 percent in 2013 and all together contributing 0.2 percentage points to U.S. real GDP growth. In 2014, the industry was the largest contributor to growth in the Southeast region and contributed to growth in 32 states and the District of Columbia.
