Business publications say the suburbs are dying while people move back downtown in major metropolitan areas. The chief economist at Texas A&M’s Real Estate Center says that's not true everywhere.
“To try and explain it as an absolute change, or trend,” says Jim Gaines, “would be dangerous.”
Gaines says a young workforce is driving construction of thousands of condominiums near downtown Houston.
“They want to locate in central areas,” he says. “You have the amenities, you have the sports venues, you have the bars, you have the theaters.”
Actually, empty-nesters also want those amenities, but businesses are still just as strong as they were in Houston's suburbs. Any movements are market-driven and will eventually reverse in most locations.