My San Antonio reports from Texas. "Canyon Lake's billboards have evolved from advertising backwoods businesses to high-end developments. And it can mean only one thing: Canyon Lake has been discovered. Lots that a few years ago were choked with cedar are being cleared, with 'for sale' replacing 'no trespassing' signs.'"

"Everywhere, there are subdivisions. What was once a quiet, rural retreat for folks looking for isolation still boasts million-dollar views, but increasingly, the views come with a price tag to match. In the last five years, the median home price has increased 25 percent from $145,000 to $180,000, according to the Canyon Lake Board of Realtors. It's the largest percentage increase in Comal County, outpacing New Braunfels, Bulverde and Spring Branch."

"But it's the land itself that is seeing the biggest price increases."

"Area real estate agents say the rapid growth and appreciation have been the result of a kind of perfect storm in real estate: developers eager to cash in on the high-dollar hunger for lake views; out-of-state investors cashing out of waning markets on the East and West coasts and desperate to find a place to park their money to avoid capital gains taxes; and San Antonio families willing to commute to find affordable housing in the area."

"Virtually all of these new developments market themselves as upper-end communities. These new subdivisions are attracting plenty of non-Texas interest. 'We are seeing people from California, Florida, Colorado,' said Ed Mullins, a Canyon Lake real estate agent. 'I even had someone in from Turkey.'"

"Anthony Faleyn, assistant sales manager for Mystic Shores agrees. Out-of-state interest in Canyon Lake used to be unusual. Now he's amazed when a Texan walks through the door."

"Tom and Diane Purdy sold their home on Mercer Island outside Seattle and moved to Texas in 2004. 'We decided we wanted to live in the San Antonio area. We'd lived here and Austin before and we looked at Lakeway, but it's gotten too expensive. So we went online and found Canyon Lake,' said Tom."

"The Purdys settled on the then-brand-new Ensenada Shores, building a 2,200-square-foot home with views of the Hill Country and the lake. The development is now sold out, and Ensenada Shores is releasing lots in its next phase."

The Dallas News. "Back during the Cold War, we all worried that the communists would take over. And as it turned out we should have been watching the folks from California. It's true: Californians are taking over the Dallas real estate market."

"Some brokers who handle retail and apartment purchases say that more than half their sales are going to California buyers."

"In new neighborhoods up in Collin County, investors from California are purchasing new single-family homes, hoping to flip them and get rich. Downtown and Uptown condos are also being acquired by speculators from the West Coast."

"At some point it will all end. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, a flood of Canadian investors and builders came to town to bid up prices and acquire choice assets. Later, it was Japanese buyers who had Dallas on their shopping list."

"With our low real estate prices and low barriers to building and investing, North Texas is a favorite for out-of-towners looking to make some property deals. Eventually the money from California will stop flowing this way, probably when it's needed to bail out problems at home."

"So far this year, out-of-town investors have bought billions in Dallas-area property, and they're still shopping for deals. So how could savvy investors get it so wrong?"

"That's what the latest report on the U.S. property market suggests. In the collaborative effort of the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, researchers conclude that 'wide-open Texas markets favor developers, but they are never good places to invest.'"

"The Emerging Trends report says that Dallas 'sits in a flat, treeless plain' (maybe they mixed us up with Tucson). The same report says that Austin is No. 5 among the best markets. I thought they said Texas markets are never good place to invest? Maybe they forgot Austin is in the Lone Star State."