Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Texas claimed the top spot in the 2010 Best Performing Cities index, according to the Milken Institute. The area edged up from second place in 2009. The area is heralded for its economic performance amid severe national recession. The metro area’s job growth ranked in the top 10 last year and over the five years from 2004-2009, but its overall performance was fueled by its first-place position in wage and salary growth over the five-year (2003-2008) and one-year (2007-2008) periods examined. Additionally, it ranked third in year-over-year job growth in the 12 months ended April 2010. Expansion at Fort Hood with the associated economic ripple effects is the primary catalyst for this stellar performance.
Rounding out the top 10 large MSAs are the following:
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSD) | 2010 Rank | 2009 Rank |
---|---|---|
Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, TX | 1 | 2 |
Austin-Round Rock, TX | 2 | 1 |
Huntsville, AL | 3 | 8 |
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX | 4 | 4 |
Kennewick-Richland-Pasco, WA | 5 | 6 |
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD | 6 | 25 |
Raleigh-Cary, NC | 7 | 10 |
Anchorage, AK | 8 | 40 |
El Paso, TX | 9 | 14 |
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX | 10 | 5 |
“We are current working on three hospitality loans in Killeen, Texas,” commented Michael D. Sneden, Executive Vice President at ValueXpress. “Two of the loans are CMBS conduit loans and one is an SBA 7(a) loan. The hotels are operating at 75%-80% occupancy and posted stable revenue during the 2008-2009 recession. With CMBS conduit lenders, and in fact all lenders, focused on market performance in addition to property performance, we keep a lookout for lending opportunities in better performing markets, using reports like those from the Milken Institute as a guide to locating better performing regions of the United States.”