Optimistic and Confident. This sums up what several local business and economic leaders have to say about
Roger Lee, executive director of Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO), writes that
A report last week from Reuters confirmed that nationwide
Non-farm payrolls are expected to have increased by 160,000 last month after rising 155,000 in December, according to a Reuters’ survey of economists. The jobless rate is expected to have held steady at 7.8 percent for a third straight month. The current
However, Central Oregon still has a ways to go: Crook County is at 13.3 percent, Jefferson 11.9 percent at and Deschutes adjusted unemployment rate (10.5 percent) showed only a modest decline from 10.7 percent in November, but improved by 1.3 percentage points from the year-ago rate of 11.8 percent in December 2011.
“Quietly, the Central Oregon economy has been diversifying – gradually replacing jobs lost in the recession and its aftermath – via a myriad of small companies doing really cool and amazing things,” noted Lee. “Many of them you’ve never heard of.”
Indeed, in this issue of Cascade Business News is a solid list of local innovative companies that are growing and adding jobs to the economy. These are the companies to watch in the coming year (if you have a company that should be added to this list please send a note to cbn@cascadebusnews.com, we would love to hear from you).
Tim Knopp, newly elected state representative and executive director of Central Oregon Builders Association, reports that a positive sign is that new home building is on the rise and housing prices are on their way up. He is also upbeat on the region’s efforts to diversify our economy “which is a positive trend with healthcare, high tech/software and tourism all headed in a positive direction.”
The building and real estate industry in
Brooks Resources reported that as they enter 2013 they have only one remaining vacant lot in their sales inventory at NorthWest Crossing. They will be releasing a new phase this spring and have builders and potential custom homebuyers already eager to buy.
On the commercial real estate trend Brooks Resources is a little more tentative offering that the market is going to be slow to recover yet for another couple of years. Compass Commercial reports that for the second straight year, vacancy rates decreased in the industrial, retail and office markets, indicating a slow but steady recovery from the recent recession.
Brian Fratzke of Fratzke Commercial Real Estate Advisors expects 2013 to be a strong year for the absorption of multifamily, industrial, retail and medical inventory. “At the same time, competition is strong by buyers looking to acquire their own building and this will continue to drive prices up,” said Fratzke. “Demand for
Fratzke explained that demand for clinical medical space is high and there is less than 10,000 square feet of clinical medical space for lease in
“Leasing needs by office users has changed and if you consider that the average IT room decreased by 400 percent over the past four years due to cloud based computing and outsourced backup service providers, office users have learned to work with less space,” he explained.
Fratzke also noted that the demand by investors to acquire multifamily properties will continue because rental rates are on the rise.
In the past 12 months, Fratzke said he has seen almost every restaurant space lease up and in some cases, the space was backfilled twice. “There is little to no retail space available for lease in
As the Bend City Council grapples with the issue of a possible increase in the local tourism tax (from 9 to 11 percent), Doug LaPlaca, executive director of Visit Bend, points out that “what was once a little-known regional gem, has evolved into an internationally recognized tourist destination that hosts over two million visitors annually, contributing over half a billion dollars to the regional economy.”
LaPlaca sees tremendous potential for the tourism industry in 2013. “As
LaPlaca adds that despite the strong performance of
As a new representative to Salem Knopp would like to see the state provide capital funding for the OSU four-year stand alone university. He views this as an essential component of
“Lowering taxes and regulation on small business would also give a shot in the arm to our economy,” said Knopp. “Passing bills that begin to use our natural resources wisely would be an economic assist to all of
EDCO notes that 2012 was the best year on record for the regional economic development agency: closing 26 business deals with companies that are on their way to adding nearly 900 new jobs and investing more than $215 million in capital investment. The good news: “While it’s a bit early to tell, 2013 could keep pace with the record-setting year EDCO just concluded for job creation and capital investment,” said Lee.
It’s clear that
