"Houston's office market has definitely held up better than other cities across the US," says Chip Clarke, president of Transwestern's Gulf Coast Region & Mountain Region. "In-migration is still positive, and the region has real identifiable job creators with the Port of Houston, the Medical Center and the energy sector. All three of these big economic drivers have good prospects for the future on a national and international level."

In fact, Forbes magazine ranks Houston fourth among 10 major US metro areas where it appears that the recession is easing. The top cities generally depend on industries that are less affected by an unsteady economy.

Although Houston lost 66,500 jobs in 2009 and the Houston metro unemployment rate rose to 8.8% in January 2010, it still ranked far below the national unemployment rate of 9.7% for the same period. The report suggests that Metro Houston's economy will likely continue its steady but gradual recovery through 2010, as consumer spending picks up and core industries strengthen.