We weren't hit hard here in Texas. If you're really thinking about dipping your toe in the real estate market, I'd think about Austin. It's just a wonderful city to live in. People that are there don't want to leave, people that have been there want to get back there some day. Things to be aware of though in the Texas market. Our properties taxes are high (we don't have income taxes is why), we have lots of urban sprawl (people are used to living far from things) and undeveloped land, and our residents are in love with "new" (Dallas is the worst, especially since house foundations have a tendency to crumble after about 30 years cause of poor soil and them not building them right in the first place). So, location is really, really key. Otherwise, your older house will be competing with newer houses for a while and will stagnate in value because people will want the newer one.