Texas is no stranger to “boom or bust” economies. Since a large part of its rich heritage is entrenched in make-it-or-break-it oilfields, Texans have learned to ride economic ups and downs with the same grit that rodeo champion Don Gay mastered a bucking bull. 

Most things that go up eventually come down, but the soaring housing market in Texas seems to defy the law of gravity according to Curbed.

In the oilfield spirit, some people equate the housing boom to an impending bubble that’s destined to burst. Several real estate analysts, however, see the boom as a sign Texas is evolving instead of experiencing a temporary phenomenon.

Dr. Jim Gaines, chief economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M, is one of them. Based on the center’s recently released Texas Housing Insight report, Gaines perceives the housing boom as a fundamental shift from Texas being a leading state to it perhaps stepping up to a new role as a center of growth in the U.S. 

The stars are aligned in Texas favor. While the state’s population, job growth, and economic conditions are ripe for a center of growth, its ability to keep pace with progress is equally significant.

Ten percent of all homes constructed nationwide are going up in Dallas, Houston, or Austin, and homebuilding in those robust Texas metros outpaces 45 U.S. markets combined.

The housing boom supports the state’s population growth and the influx of corporate relocations. The metro population in Dallas and Houston respectively include 7.1 million and 6.4 million. Since 2010 in the Dallas area alone, the population grew by 800,000 people, which exceeds the census in Washington, D.C., and 717,000 jobs were added.

Of the eight largest U.S. cities for population growth last year, five of them are in Texas: Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. And GDP growth here hit 3.9 percent last quarter, which is more than twice the national average of 1.4 percent. 

According to Anil Kumar, an economic policy adviser and senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the Texas economy consistently grows faster than the nation.

“This is the new normal going forward as opposed to something that is approaching a correction,” Kumar told Curbed.