Unless you've been living in a cave somewhere, you've probably heard many gloomy predictions about the state of realty and home values in the past year or so. According to the media and industry experts, the housing bubble is bursting, home value prices are dropping and the real estate market in general sucks.

Rest assured, this is NOT true. Perhaps when looked at on a national scale, the market could be better ? but it's not as bad as many make it out to seem. Besides, knowing the national median home value (in 2006 it was $221,900) isn't going to help you when you move. Real estate is an investment, so you want to invest where your home value is bound to appreciate. So how do you know where to move to? By examining past home value and sales trends as well as the population, economy, job opportunities and attractions a specific area has to offer.

Texas (capital city: Austin) is the largest mainland state with a population of over 23.5 million in 2006. With so much space and such a huge population, it's a good thing Texas's economy has really grown lately, especially in the past few months. Their main agricultural products are cattle, cotton, dairy, nursery stock, poultry, sorghum, corn and wheat and its industrial services include chemical production, natural gas and petroleum, food processing, electric equipment, machinery, mining and tourism. In the past few months several industries have grown, including: trade, transportation and utilities; financial, professional and business services; education and health services and even the governmental sectors. Since new job opportunities equals more new residents, and new residents equals more demand for housing, it isn't much of a surprise that on average, Texas home value prices have continued to rise.

The various things to do in Texas also keeps attracting new residents as well, which again keeps home value averages steady and rising. Texas has something for everyone: nightlife from it's major cities (and there are many of them: Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, El Paso, San Antonio and Houston), historical and cultural monuments (plenty of battles took place in Texas ? does the Alamo ring a bell?), outdoor activities (camping, birding, water sports, etc), beautiful beaches on the Gulf coast, and of course ranches and cowboys and horses (oh my!). All year round you can find festivals, fiestas and fishing tournaments throughout Texas, and amusement parks as well as state parks pepper the state. These attractions are continuously attracting more and more people to the estate, keeping the market stable.

Of course, the fact that Texas has had more job growth and the lowest unemployment rate in its history the past few months doesn't hurt home value prices either. With an unemployment rate of only 4.1% in May, more jobs than ever are available in Texas. On the flip side, according to American Community Survey, the state's median household income actually dropped nearly $1000 to $42,139 in 2005 (when inflation is calculated). Since Texas has some of the richest and poorest areas in the nation, that is not too surprising. The median assessed home value for the past month was about $131,824, while the median sales price was about $116,900.

Major cities in the state seem to be holding steady real estate markets. Affordable Austin has a median home value sales price of about $174,000 with homes spending less days on the market than in past months (an average of 63 now). Houston has cooled off somewhat overall, according to agents in the area, with slight drops in sales and home value in the past couple months. The average home value of a single family home is at about $214,540, which is still an increase over last year. San Antonio's inventory is at a historical high and the average list price is lowering somewhat as sellers get used to a slower than normal market. The average home value in May was about $184,721. The Dallas and Forth Worth area has also been growing, and home value averages reflect that at about $350,343 in the Dallas area.

All in all, Texas has areas that are doing very well and other areas that are slowing down somewhat and even dropping slightly in home value averages. However, with so much job growth and opportunity, it is likely that Texas' market will perk up again and home value prices will continue to appreciate.

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