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GRAND JUNCTION — Despite the national and global economic and real estate mortgage crisis, Grand Junction continues to buck national trends and weather the current economic storm, according to two indicators released Wednesday.
One, the Milken Institute Report, measures job growth, wages and high-tech product production growth.
The other, from HousingPredictor.com, tracks increases and decreases of real estate values.
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Best performing cities
Milken ranked Grand Junction as fifth-best performing city, among cities of similar size.
Milken, working with the Greenstreet Partners Best Performing Cities Index, ranks cities by how well they create and sustain jobs and economic growth, according to their Web sites. Jobs, wages, salaries and technology growth were considered in the rankings.
“One of the main reasons we did so well was because of our job growth and wages and salaries growth,” particularly in the short-term, said Ann Driggers, executive director of the Grand Junction Economic Partnership.
Long term, Grand Junction has fared well also, she said.
The energy industry, while it’s been a player in northwest Colorado, has “not taken off until the more recent years. We’ve always been fairly well on the top of the list, but we’ve never been this high,” Driggers said.
The recent national and global financial crisis will impact the local economy, Driggers predicted, but “we stand in better stead to weather the storm” because of the strength of the energy industry, she said.
In the category of high-tech product growth for the past five years, Grand Junction ranked 70th in the nation. Last year in that same category, the city ranked 12th.
“We still have work to do. At least it’s headed in the right direction,” Driggers said.
Grand Junction ranked second among same-sized metro areas in the category of one-year job growth, from 2006-07, and fifth in job growth from March last year to March this year.
In five-year job growth, Grand Junction ranked eighth among cities of similar size.
In overall rank, Grand Junction was listed number 18 last year. This year’s report ranked Grand Junction behind Midland, Texas; Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Bend, Ore.; and St. George, Utah.
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Housing predictors
Web site HousingPredictor.com forecasted Grand Junction as having the sixth top real estate appreciation in the nation, at 4 percent for 2008. Grand Junction was tied with Austin, Texas, and Fargo, N.D.
Founded in 2004, HousingPredictor.com uses economists, researchers, analysts and journalists to research real estate news across the country, its Web site said.
Grand Junction is the only Colorado city listed with increasing property values, the Web site said. It attributed the increase to the natural gas boom.
“Workers are flooding northwest Colorado to work the state’s unprecedented natural gas boom,” the Web site said. “The job base is strong, and prospects look promising.”
Other forecasts by HousingPredictor.com listed Denver as having home values losing 9.4 percent in value this year, Aurora losing 9.1 percent, Colorado Springs losing 7.9 percent, Boulder losing 7.2 percent and Fort Collins losing 5.3 percent.
Prices have softened only recently, said Fran Stephens, marketing director for Bray Real Estate.
“We’re seeing some changes,” said Stephens.
The number of sales is also down, from 2,959 sales of homes through the third quarter last year, compared with 2,388 in the same time period this year.
“We’re 27 percent down in sales,” she said.
Bob Reece, a consultant with Advance Title Technology, said the hot real estate market Mesa County has seen in recent years has slowed down.
“I predict we will not see a reversal of the current trend until later in 2009, if then,” Reece said. “It will take time for inventory to be eaten up and for the market to gain enough confidence to again purchase here.”
Realtor Cindy Ficklin said because of softening prices and an abundance of choices, now’s the time to buy.
“There’s more inventory, now more than ever,” and prices will rebound, Ficklin said. “We are destined to boom again.”
Furthermore, buyers with good credit won’t have trouble getting loans, said Justin Harris of Cherry Creek Mortgage.
The HousingPredictor.com listing put Grand Junction’s real estate values growth behind Biloxi, Miss., at 4.9 percent, Salem, Ore., at 4.7 percent, Bismarck, N.D., at 4.6 percent, Spokane, Wash., at 4.4 percent, and Yakima, Wash., at 4.1 percent.
Reach Marija B. Vader at mvader@gjfreepress.com.
One, the Milken Institute Report, measures job growth, wages and high-tech product production growth.
The other, from HousingPredictor.com, tracks increases and decreases of real estate values.
*****
Best performing cities
Milken ranked Grand Junction as fifth-best performing city, among cities of similar size.
Milken, working with the Greenstreet Partners Best Performing Cities Index, ranks cities by how well they create and sustain jobs and economic growth, according to their Web sites. Jobs, wages, salaries and technology growth were considered in the rankings.
“One of the main reasons we did so well was because of our job growth and wages and salaries growth,” particularly in the short-term, said Ann Driggers, executive director of the Grand Junction Economic Partnership.
Long term, Grand Junction has fared well also, she said.
The energy industry, while it’s been a player in northwest Colorado, has “not taken off until the more recent years. We’ve always been fairly well on the top of the list, but we’ve never been this high,” Driggers said.
The recent national and global financial crisis will impact the local economy, Driggers predicted, but “we stand in better stead to weather the storm” because of the strength of the energy industry, she said.
In the category of high-tech product growth for the past five years, Grand Junction ranked 70th in the nation. Last year in that same category, the city ranked 12th.
“We still have work to do. At least it’s headed in the right direction,” Driggers said.
Grand Junction ranked second among same-sized metro areas in the category of one-year job growth, from 2006-07, and fifth in job growth from March last year to March this year.
In five-year job growth, Grand Junction ranked eighth among cities of similar size.
In overall rank, Grand Junction was listed number 18 last year. This year’s report ranked Grand Junction behind Midland, Texas; Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Bend, Ore.; and St. George, Utah.
*****
Housing predictors
Web site HousingPredictor.com forecasted Grand Junction as having the sixth top real estate appreciation in the nation, at 4 percent for 2008. Grand Junction was tied with Austin, Texas, and Fargo, N.D.
Founded in 2004, HousingPredictor.com uses economists, researchers, analysts and journalists to research real estate news across the country, its Web site said.
Grand Junction is the only Colorado city listed with increasing property values, the Web site said. It attributed the increase to the natural gas boom.
“Workers are flooding northwest Colorado to work the state’s unprecedented natural gas boom,” the Web site said. “The job base is strong, and prospects look promising.”
Other forecasts by HousingPredictor.com listed Denver as having home values losing 9.4 percent in value this year, Aurora losing 9.1 percent, Colorado Springs losing 7.9 percent, Boulder losing 7.2 percent and Fort Collins losing 5.3 percent.
Prices have softened only recently, said Fran Stephens, marketing director for Bray Real Estate.
“We’re seeing some changes,” said Stephens.
The number of sales is also down, from 2,959 sales of homes through the third quarter last year, compared with 2,388 in the same time period this year.
“We’re 27 percent down in sales,” she said.
Bob Reece, a consultant with Advance Title Technology, said the hot real estate market Mesa County has seen in recent years has slowed down.
“I predict we will not see a reversal of the current trend until later in 2009, if then,” Reece said. “It will take time for inventory to be eaten up and for the market to gain enough confidence to again purchase here.”
Realtor Cindy Ficklin said because of softening prices and an abundance of choices, now’s the time to buy.
“There’s more inventory, now more than ever,” and prices will rebound, Ficklin said. “We are destined to boom again.”
Furthermore, buyers with good credit won’t have trouble getting loans, said Justin Harris of Cherry Creek Mortgage.
The HousingPredictor.com listing put Grand Junction’s real estate values growth behind Biloxi, Miss., at 4.9 percent, Salem, Ore., at 4.7 percent, Bismarck, N.D., at 4.6 percent, Spokane, Wash., at 4.4 percent, and Yakima, Wash., at 4.1 percent.
Reach Marija B. Vader at mvader@gjfreepress.com.
