Metro Denver August 2009 Economic Summary
Colorado is the nation’s third-best state for business, according to an annual ranking by CNBC.com. The ranking was based on 40 metrics in ten broad categories, including workforce, quality of life, and costs of living and doing business. Colorado received top-10 rankings in the categories that measure business friendliness, access to capital, and overall economy.
Forbes.com recently named Boulder to its list of ten “Best Cities for Recession Recovery.” Analysts identified the areas best positioned to rebound using projections of metropolitan area gross domestic product plus data on unemployment, home prices, and other economic factors. Many of the cities expected to recover more slowly have heavily burdened real estate markets or concentrations of employment in manufacturing or finance.
Also, Louisville ranked first on Money magazine’s 2009 “Best Places to Live” list. Magazine editors say the city’s low unemployment and crime rates plus its sense of community and outdoor recreation contribute to a top quality of life.
Metro Denver employers added 3,000 jobs between May and June, although seasonally adjusted data suggest the gain was smaller than expected for this time of year. Three of the region’s 11 industry super-sectors reported net job losses in June, although typical summer-season layoffs in education represented a considerable portion of the cuts. Three other super-sectors – natural resources and construction, wholesale and retail trade, and professional and business services – account for more than three-quarters of the jobs lost in Metro Denver so far this year. Data suggest, however, that hiring in professional and business services may be starting to revive.
Residential Real Estate
· Data from the National Association of Realtors show U.S. existing home sales rose for the third consecutive month in June and fell just 0.2 percent below sales from June 2008.
· Metro Denver existing home sales rose 15.4 percent between May and June but remained 13.6 percent below the sales level from June 2008.
· Metro Denver foreclosure filings rose more than 15 percent between May and June.
· Metro Denver’s average apartment vacancy rate rose to nine percent in the second quarter of 2009. The second quarter rate was the highest reported since the first quarter of 2005.