Austin Uhaul Index February 2020

[Beau Fannon]

February saw Austin's attraction strength for new residents hold steady against San Francisco, New York, and Dallas. Nashville still has a slightly stronger trend for attracting new residents than Austin does.  

Chicago, Denver, and Houston all gained ground against Austin.  Chicago had the biggest ground swell in truck inventory.  My brother-in-law up there says it is rather peculiar for so many people to be moving in the winter but they are.  I don't track Chicago area economics so I don't know what the driving force behind this sudden increase in migration is.  

Denver saw a big increase in 10' trucks which indicates a swell of young college grads without much furniture prefering to move there.  Having lived in Boulder, I can tell you that superior weather and outdoor opportunities are a big draw for that age range.  

Miami and Washington DC both lost ground in relation to Austin. 

[James Carlson]

@Beau Fannon

Ouch! A shot across the bow of Denver! I think the idea of Denver as a boomtown is outdated. We used to be an oil-driven city in the 80s and 90s, but that has shifted in the last 20 years, and there are no indications that the shift is going to reverse. 

Our economy has become much more diverse and oil is not even close to the top driver. Those UHaul trucks continue to come. Now where the hell are all those kids going to live? Who knows. Ain't nothing cheap here, but they're also buying and renting and fueling businesses that provide jobs, etc. etc.

Also, the home price increases in the last 45 years would also say Denver's not that mercurial. From 1975 to 2020, we've had only two small slumps -- in the mid-to-late 80s when oil prices nosedived and the savings and loan crisis happened; and again in the 07/08 bubble burst. Even accounting for those times, our home prices have increased an average of 6% in that 45 years. That ain't bad and is a pretty good indicator of Denver's trajectory. (Hint: it's upward.)

Plus, I've been to Austin. It's muggy as hell and hot as Hades half the year! And our beer's better. And we have legal weed. And the mountains. And a better downtown. And we put green chili on everything. Take that!