PNC Financial Services Group's quarterly economic report keeps North Texans in loop on job growth, wages, and housing prices.
NTX Now's Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning spoke with PNC Chief Economist Gus Faucher about the details.
These interview highlights have been edited for length and clarity. To hear the full conversation, click the 'listen' button above.
Big takeaways
Faucher said the biggest takeaways from this report is that the unemployment rate in Dallas is below the national average, and the economy should continue to expand heading in to 2027.
Gus also said that DFW is seeing that growth in industries tied to consumer spending, like retail and leisure hospitality services, as well as education and healthcare.
Housing affordability
One reason Faucher credits the ease of putting up houses in Texas is simply because of the availability of land. Developers and construction workers also have a play.
"It's easy for developers to get permits and so forth, there's an ample supply of construction labor, although that may become more of an issue with restrictions on immigration," Faucher said. "What we tend to see is that housing supply in the Dallas area tends to respond pretty quickly to market conditions and so that keeps housing relatively affordable compared to other parts of the United States."
Issues to keep an eye on
There are multiple things that Faucher is keeping an eye on, including oil prices and the tech industry.
"With the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran, we have seen oil prices come down," Faucher said. "That's very good news for consumers. They're not paying nearly as much to fill up their gas tanks. I would expect that gasoline prices will continue to fall over the next couple of months."
Faucher also explained how investors are optimistic about new technology and tech companies in DFW, and the stock market is benefiting from that boom. He mentioned that while unlikely, a disinterest in that technology could cause economic problems.
"If we were to see a retrenchment there, and I'm not saying that's going to happen, but if we were to see the tech companies become less optimistic then that could become a drag," Faucher said. "So the optimism around AI, around tech, is benefiting the Dallas area for now, but it is vulnerable to a correction in the near term."
Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning are the hosts of KERA's NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Miranda at msuarez@kera.org or Ron at rcorning@kera.org.
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