Benton County Among the Best in the Country for Employment Growth

Who would have guessed that among thousands of counties in the United States, Benton County, Arkansas, would be in second place for employment? It’s true according to CreditDonkey, a credit card comparison website that publishes various data-driven analyses.

The CreditDonkey study primarily looked at employment growth, wage growth, and improving unemployment rates during the twelve months March 2012 to 2013.

San Mateo County, California was the only county ahead of Benton County. Falling behind Benton County were counties in the Denver, Atlanta, and Seattle metropolitan areas among others. That’s enough to make some of us long-time residents overjoyed. It is always exhilarating to learn that outsiders concur with what we’ve known all along.

During the study period, employment growth in the U.S. grew slightly more than 1.6%. Wage growth in Benton County increased 2.7%.

Wage growth in Benton County increased a whopping 14.3% to an average weekly pay of $1,339. San Mateo County was only one-half of one-percent ahead at 14.8%. The next best rate after Benton County was Loudoun County, Virginia, in the Washington, D. C. area at 2.4% and that’s not even close.

During the same time, average U.S. weekly wages grew by 0.6%, or $6, resulting in an average U.S. paycheck of $989.

Benton County’s unemployment rate also moves in the right direction. In January 2013, the U.S. rate unemployment rate was 7.9% and Benton County’s rate was 6%.  As of August 2013, Benton County’s rate had fallen to 5.4% and the U.S. rate was still above 7%.

Good things are happening all the time in beautiful Northwest Arkansas.

NW Arkansas’s Economy Continues to Improve - Slowly

Slow and steady seem to be the key words to describe improving economic conditions, in Arkansas as well as the country. We all wish the words could be dynamic or thriving – but let’s appreciate every bit of good news we get.

The U.S. Labor Department reported the economy added more than 150,000 jobs in October. That’s good news.

The average number of hours worked increased by 6 minutes. Doesn’t sound like much but it is good news because employers tend to increase employees’ work hours before adding new hires. Let’s face it, these days any increase in hours worked is good because people take home more money.

The number of first-time applicants for unemployment decreased. I don’t even have to tell you that’s good news.

But even better news has been happening all along in Arkansas.

Arkansas’ unemployment rate has consistently been about 2% lower than the national average, although it rose 0.1% in October compared to September to 7.8%. The national unemployment rate continued at 9.6%. The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA* leads the state's metros with the lowest 2010 third-quarter jobless rate, at 6.3%.

Arkansas is ranked in the top 10 for states with the LEAST number of foreclosures.

Arkansas’ taxable sales were up 0.9% in the third quarter of 2010.

Projections are that Arkansas will show personal-income growth ahead of the U.S. rate at 6% for 2011.

Positive signs are beginning to appear. Keep your fingers crossed for the trend to continue. Why? Because the more jobs there are, the more people will want to move here and buy houses.

* Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) includes Benton, Madison, and Washington counties in Arkansas as well as McDonald County in extreme southwest Missouri.

For more information:

National Public Radio Report
Arkansas Business Report

The Recession Supposedly Ended in 2009 – Who Knew?

The powers that be (The National Bureau of Economic Research) have declared the recession over – going so far as to say it actually ended in June 2009. I suppose that’s good news to politicians and statisticians but most regular families don’t believe it and have not seen any proof of it.

Statistics by academic economists don’t impress an unemployed person who is struggling to pay his bills and feed his family. Nor do they influence the family who just lost their home to foreclosure.

More than 15 months have passed since June 2009. Consumer confidence is still low, though slightly higher than it was. Home sales have dropped off a cliff compared to 2009 and that year was nothing to brag about. Unemployment is still high and we’re told it may go still higher.

Mortgage rates are near an all-time low but homes aren’t selling because even the employed folks worry about job security.

This recession has been one of the longest and most devastating I can recall. So many people are seriously distressed and demoralized. Most everyone has suffered to one degree or another.

I can only hope the average person will soon see evidence of the recession’s end. That will mean that they might actually get out an want to buy a house.

For more information, click here.

Real Estate News in NW Arkansas

Now that I’m reading the local newspaper on line again, I can use it to help my readers find information on news and issues of importance for the area.

With regard to real estate there are a few things.

First, an article Saturday in the new NW Arkansas paper provided good information about the housing market in NW Arkansas in relation to property taxes collected and delinquent taxes. It seems that the sum of delinquent taxes declined last year, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the housing market is improving.

Second, last Friday was the annual Economic Forecast Luncheon at the Hammons Center in Rogers, sponsored by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the U of A Sam Walton School of Business.

We learned about recent occurrences in the world, national and local economy and postulations about what’s coming in the near future. Actually the outlook was more positive than I would have imagined and I hope the crystal balls of the speakers are not cracked or broken. We need some positive economic news to get buyers out into the streets again, purchasing homes.

The economic stimulus measures of the federal government have helped, particularly the first time home buyer tax credit, which was expanded and extended into this year. Now if only the weather would improve… ;-)

The other event which I just found out about at the Metro Board of Realtor Luncheon on Thursday was the imminent merger between two of the large local real estate companies of NW Arkansas, Harris McHaney and Coldwell Banker Faucette Realty. This will make the largest real estate company in the NW Arkansas area.

This comes on the heels of the merger under the Weichert umbrella of the Griffin Company and Weichert Clark Long and Associates in December just before Christmas.

The real estate business in NW Arkansas is a changin’. Small boutique firms (and even larger firms like Griffin and Harris McHaney) are having a tougher time. The housing market has suffered with the recession, and may continue to do so. The recent announcement by Walmart of laying off 300 people here in NW Arkansas may have a chilling effect on the economy and housing market just as Walmart’s layoff of 800 people last year did.

Foreclosures are high and there are a lot of short sales. With some of our major corporate employers also cutting back, growth in the area is bound to be curtailed, compared to the peak a few years ago. This (in turn) will lead to fewer new homes being built and sold at a time when we are still trying to absorb the inflated inventory of homes from our mini housing bubble.

I certainly don’t have a crystal ball, but I’m still optimistic.

For more info on the housing market and property taxes:
http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2010/feb/06/unpaid-real-estate-taxes-dip-20100206/

For more info on the Economic Forecast Luncheon and the economy:
http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2010/feb/06/green-jobs-sustainability-could-boost-area-economy/
http://tinyurl.com/ygyzk98
http://tinyurl.com/yzqehch

For more info on the merger of Coldwell Banker and Harris McHaney:
http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aID=120146.54928.132287

For more info about Fayetteville and NW Arkansas and purchasing or selling a home there:
http://www.JudyLuna.com

And for searching the NW Arkansas MLS:
http://www.NWArkansasHomeSearch.com

Consumer Confidence Up in NW Arkansas? I hope so.

When I was out shopping before Christmas I encountered horrendous traffic near the malls and lots of people in the stores. My impression was that “consumer confidence” in NW Arkansas was back in force.

Now that some of the business reports are coming in, the numbers show my impression was correct. Basically my observations of are “anecdotal” evidence but I also pull data from local sources and the MLS. So when the economists trot out the statistics I look for those to validate my gut feelings and in this case they did just that.

As I have mentioned in the past, Americans are saving more than they did before the recession and that’s a good thing. But for a healthy economy, people need to spend money. Individuals don’t often realize the impact their personal spending habits have on the economy as a whole. But the truth is that consumer spending is a huge driving force on the economy and people need to spend money if the recovery is to gain momentum.

I’m happy that things are picking up at the retail level. It’s a positive sign of economic recovery. My hope is that the housing market responds in kind.

For more information:

http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?zone=AB_DailyReport_Monday&lID=&sID=&ms=&cID=Z&aID=119367.54928.131493&page=2

http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?zone=AB_DailyReport_Monday&lID=&sID=&ms=&cID=Z&aID=119366.54928.131492

I Guess NW Arkansas Isn’t Bulletproof After All…

By now everyone has heard about Walmart cutting 700 to 800 jobs at the home office in a restructuring move. This has come as a big surprise to a lot of people including me, and I’m worried about a “chilling” effect that this could have on the local economy.

As the national media proclaim doom and gloom stories about job losses, increased unemployment rates, and yet more economic stimulus measures, we thought we weren’t as bad off as other parts of the country. Walmart and other large corporate employers in NW Arkansas have provided job growth here—smaller than in past years, but at least positive growth.

The other thing is that a discount store like Walmart usually does better when times are tough as they are now. Thus we thought this would keep our area “safe” from what’s happening elsewhere. So to have even Walmart cut 5% of their positions here is significant, and could affect the already suffering housing market.

The perceptions that the economy here isn’t as robust as people thought and that there may not be as many jobs available, may prevent new people from moving here and purchasing homes. On the other hand, some of those 700 people may have difficulty finding new jobs here and selling their homes to move elsewhere. Thus the chilling effect is magnified as the number of months of housing inventory increases at a time when sales are down compared to previous years.

For me as a Realtor® I’m disappointed. Yes, Walmart may be fiscally responsible to its shareholders, but when someone you know is one of those 700 people the negative effect is felt even more sharply. I just found out that a client of mine, a nice young man to whom I have sold a home and who was going to get married in a few months, was one of those laid off. He is, of course, devastated, and trying to take stock of his situation.

Ultimately the effect of these job cuts probably can’t be measured. But the actual as well as psychological chill this has caused locally goes beyond news reports on the situation. Only time will get us out of this economic mess.

For more information:

http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/252028/
http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Business/252088/
http://nwanews.com/bcdr/News/70632/
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2009/02/11/news/021109azwalmartlayoffs.txt

Recession or Depression – Which is it?

Recessions and depressions have been a fact of life since before statistics were kept. And, unfortunately, the United States is currently in one or the other.

A recession is defined by the National Bureau of Economic Research as a "A significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales."

If a recession continues long enough, it becomes a depression.

Either term is bad news for everyone: individuals, businesses, and government at all levels. The U.S. and many of the industrialized nations of the world are suffering. Unemployment is high, food prices are high, oil prices are high (though lower than a few weeks ago), and inflation is high. Retail sales are at such low levels they have caused another severe drop in the stock market. All this means pessimism and worry are high.

All told, stock markets have suffered unthinkable losses. The misery is widespread - U.S. to Europe and Iceland to Australia.

Our economy is largely based on the availability of easily obtained credit – and access to credit is practically non-existent at the present time. Manufacturers are suffering major problems in financing purchases and payrolls. Sales of homes are stagnant because individuals are finding it difficult to get mortgages. Automobile and retail sales have fallen flat because it’s tough to get a loan.

Now the federal government has stepped in to actually take partial ownership in several of the nation’s largest banks. The initial investment is $125 billion and it is supposed to stimulate interbank lending and revive the stagnant credit markets. If and how the plan will work remains to be seen.

We are in uncertain times. Some of the brightest and most experienced minds are working on all aspects of the mess we’re in. Let’s hope they find a way out soon.

But, history shows we will get through this and once again see the economy on an upward swing.

You might find it interesting to read a Wikipedia article I came across that includes a concise list of past U.S. recessions, their causes and duration:

http://en.wikipedia.org:80/wiki/List_of_recessions_in_the_United_States