Out of 400 metropolitan statistical areas in the nation, the Texarkana-area housing market experienced the fifth largest increase in improvement over the last year, according to Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.
"Texarkana was one of the highest performers," said Ben Ayers, a senior economist with Nationwide. An MSA is an area of division used to measure housing demand, using variables such as job growth, increase in the number of people occupying houses and household price averages over a long-term period.
"About a year ago, Texarkana average household prices seemed a little overheated, compared to employment, income and other considerations," Ayers said.
"The town rated a zero in the MSA rating system at that time," Ayers said.
Nationwide then compared the way those variables stand now and found considerable change. According to Ayers, household property prices have realigned to a more realistic, sustainable level.
"It isn't that prices have gone down," Ayers said. "It is that the available money in income and other favorable conditions have become more complementary. Pace of increase matched overall with local economic growth."
"In terms of the ratings system, Texarkana is now a plus 2," Ayers said.
Ayers said he anticipates things will hold or improve even more in the next year or two.
"I think we are seeing things pick up there," he said. "Job growth is up 2 1/2 percent. For Texarkana, that is the highest in a decade."