Lifestyles Unlimited, the nationally renowned Education and Mentor Group for Real Estate Investing, congratulates member Ira Gross.

Ira has been selected the 2011 National Apartment Association Independent Owner of the Year, 101-500 units category. Mr. Gross joins a fine group of elite owner-operators from Lifestyles Unlimited who have received this coveted award.

Ira is a member in good standing with Lifestyles for more than six years. During that time, he has successfully purchased with his partners two apartment complexes, one in Stafford, TX and the other in southwest Houston. The first property, 175 units, which was submitted for this award, has had total returns of more than 150% to the partners. Mr. Gross had no prior experience in the apartment business and joined Lifestyles Unlimited for mentoring and guidance from founder Del Walmsley and VP of Acquisition, Broker, David Fantin. Ira also receives support from other members who are owner-operators.

In 2009, Ira was awarded the Houston Apartment Association Independent Owner of the Year.

The original “Texaplex” video by David Winans showcased why the Texas economy is the best in the country. It was immensely popular, with over 110,000 views on YouTube!

Now, he has released a new video about Houston that shows why Houston is so strong. All the reasons that make Houston’s Economy roll full steam ahead are the same reasons you should have your money in Texas real estate.

You can find more information about Texaplex and David Winans at Texaplex.com.

Reed Construction Data covers the trend of increasingly healthy markets in major Texas cities such as Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio.

Dallas and Houston have recently been reported to have more multifamily permits than New York City!

The trend has been attributed largely to “college and oil patch towns” that avoided both the housing boom and recession.

The articles report that Katrina restoration funds in golf cities and resource based Texan economies also account for recent progress.

It went on to discuss the relationship between cities who benefited the most from the housing boom and those that are facing the worst housing surpluses and price declines now.

Click here to read the entire article at reedconstructiondata.com.

It gave me chills to read that BusinessWeek put 5 Texas cities it it’s Top 10 Strongest Economies in America.

The article citied a steady real estate market that never got “too hot or too cold”.

BusinessWeek.com used research from the Brookings Institutions new MetroMonitor to rank the nations top 40 strongest economies. Texas dominated the list:

#1 San Antonio, TX
#2 Austin, TX
#3 Oklahoma City, OK
#4 Little Rock, AR
#5 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
#6 Baton Rouge, LA
#7 Tulsa, OK
#8 Omaha, NE
#9 Houston, TX
#10 El Paso, TX

Click here to read the entire article at BusinessWeek.com and click on each city to read what they wrote about each city.