I think it's the latter. Over the last decade, CA (especially northern) has demonstrated a spectacular failure on meeting housing demands. TX is the second largest economy so it's a quite natural to become the new candidate, especially in the context that NY has been suffering from a similar housing issue.

>> Samsung spent years evaluating where to build the new fab, courting multiple locations and pitting them against each other for better incentives

Perhaps other states are not willing to top the gobs of money Texas offered to Samsung. The Amazon HQ2, race-to-the-bottom strategy is alive and well

the only mix of well educated locals without relocating people, and wide areas of empty land