Perryman: Region's Economic Rebound Starting to Show

Perryman was yesterday's featured speaker at the annual community breakfast sponsored by the Real Estate Council. The sold-out event, held at the Adam's Mark in Downtown Dallas, kicked off a daylong housing summit by the North Texas Housing Coalition.

Perryman, one of the council's board members, says Dallas/Fort Worth is starting to gain economic ground. "It's already happening here," he tells GlobeSt.com, "but it just hasn't shown up in the numbers yet." Orders are up "significantly," says the acclaimed economist, adding the next move is "to get that hiring process going again."

The crowd of 650 attendees heard Perryman tout the merits of Dallas/Fort Worth as he urged them to look at the region as a whole instead of rival metros. Unlike its glory days of the past, Dallas has and is struggling to get back on its feet whereas Fort Worth now "has a number of things going for it," he said. "But when you think of this area, you should think of it as a region."

It's the Texas can-do attitude that lies at the crux of the region's ability to compete economically. "That is critical to the future of a region," Perryman stressed, also crediting the Texas Enterprise Fund with providing needed clout to put the state back into "the game" to gain jobs and economic growth.

"You're the distribution center, the information center, the marketing center of a region that's doing very well," Perryman said. Last year, exports in Texas increased 15%; the same gain is likely to happen again. "Look around, you'll find all the things that ensure long-term success is here in abundance."