Despite increases in foreclosures across the nation, San Antonio, TX seems to be surviving the problem better than most cities. In a very comprehensive article published by Forbes.com, San Antonio ranked second as a recession-proof city, behind Oklahoma City, San Antonio's strong showing in affordable housing prices and solid unemployment figures(decreased from 4.3% to 4.0% during the time frame covered in the study) were critical factors extracted from the Forbes article that led to San Antonio's high ranking among the top 50 largest metro areas in the country.
Much of the data included in the Forbes report was taken from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for the year ending in February 2008 to see which areas were adding or subtracting jobs. Job growth in non-farm payrolls, through February 2008, and construction data, education and health sevices, finiancial activities and natural resources were some of the other factors taken into consideration.
With real estate prices falling nationwide, median home price information supplied by the National Association of Realtors, from the fourth quarter of 2006 through the fourth quarter of 2007, was a major factor in the Forbes analysis. Texas cities fared best. With favorable climates and available land, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and Dallas were all among the leading cities using this measure.
The Forbes rankings were adjusted using data from a November 2007 report, "U.S. Metro Economies: The Mortgage Crisis, which lists each city's estimated gross metropolitan product growth by projecting how rising foreclosures and falling home prices would affect overall levels of productivity in local communities.