Interesting perspective from the Nielsen Company this morning concerning the upside of a downturned economy. According to the same folks who bring you TV ratings, Atlanta, Dallas and Phoenix are the top three fastest-growing markets since 2000. (Not the new news.) And, sure, while foreclosures may be on the rise here and elsewhere -- a subject the Dallas City Council plans on taking up today, matter of fact -- well, that's not so bad either. Because "people who have foreclosed most likely have not left the market but rather have just become renters," says a Nielsen Claritas veep who co-authored the new study Finding Growth in Challenging Times: Seven Indicators to Evaluate Population Growth, which refers to Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles as "primarily collections of suburbs with only marginal links to an urban core," which will upset our downtown-obsessed mayor.
The study is intended to show retailers why moving to Dallas, or the other top-growing markets mentioned, is a good thing even in bad times. Which is? "Faltering markets, such as these, will likely rebound and continue to grow -- and their underlying demographics are solid." --Robert Wilonsky
