News Trends Contributors Real estate sales slow Opinion Business Briefs Business People Almanac
August 12-25, 2021
The Business Times
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INDICATORS AT A GLANCE
n Business filings
s New business filings in Colorado, 39,252 in the second quarter, up 25.7% from the second quarter of 2020.
But year-to-date activity in Mesa County remains well ahead of 2020
s Consumer Confidence Index 129,1 in July, up 0.2. s Leeds Business Confidence Index for Colorado, 67.3 for the third quarter, up 2.9. t National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Optimism Index 99.7 for July, down 2.8.
Real estate sales slowed in Mesa County in July, but overall activity so far this year remains well ahead of last year. Robert Bray, chief executive officer of Bray Real Estate in Grand Junction, remains optimistic. “I still think it’s going to be a very good year.” Annette Miller, administrator coordinator at Heritage Title Co. in Grand Junction, said she expects neither a big decrease nor big Robert Bray increase in the market. “I don’t see any red flags that it’s going to change dramatically either direction.” Miller said 595 real estate transactions worth a total of $242 million were reported in Mesa County in July. Compared to the same month last year, transactions slipped 1.5 percent, but combined dollar volume rose 24.7 percent. Miller said low inventories continue to hamper sales, but real estate activity typically Annette Miller slows in July given the holiday and summer vacations. Eighteen transactions worth a combined $48.9 million bolstered dollar volume in July, she said. The transactions included the sale of the Peppermill Lofts apartments for more than $7 million, Liberty Center office building for nearly $6.3 million and a 72-unit apartment building for $5.5 million. Through July, 3,657 transactions worth a total of more than $1.3 billion were reported in 2021. Compared to the same span last year, transactions increased 23.3 percent and dollar volume jumped 43.3 percent. The increases reflect in part the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions in 2020. If the current pace of activity continues, 2021 would end with
n Confidence
n Foreclosures t Foreclosure filings in Mesa County, 2 in July, down from 4 in July 2020. t Foreclosure sales in Mesa County, 0 in July, down from 2 in July 2020.
n Indexes
s Conference Board Employment Trends Index, 109.80 for July, up 0.84. s Conference Board Leading Economic Index 115.1 for June, up 0.7%. t Institute for Supply Management Purchasing Managers Index for manufacturing, 59.5% for July, down 1.1%.
n Lodging
s Lodging tax collections in Grand Junction, $201,955 for June, up 202.5% from May 2020.
n Real estate
t Real estate transactions in Mesa County, 595 in July, down 1.5% from July 2020. s Dollar volume of real estate transactions in Mesa County, $242 million in July, up 24.7% from July 2020.
n Sales
s Sales and use tax collections in Grand Junction, $5.8 million for June, up 27% from May 2020. s Sales and use tax collections in Mesa County, $4.47million for July, up 20.3 % from July 2020.
n Unemployment s Mesa County — 6.9% for June, up 0.9. n Colorado — 6.2% for June, unchanged. t United States — 5.4% for July, down 0.5.
Phil Castle
The Business Times
6,269 transactions worth a total of $2.2 billion, exceeding what ultimately was a record year in 2020. According to numbers Bray Real Estate tracks for the residential market, 365 transactions worth a total of more than $140.5 million were reported in July. Compared to the same month last year, transactions dropped 17.2 percent and dollar volume edged down three-tenths of a percent. Through the first seven months of 2021, 2,388 residential transactions worth a total of more than $862.7 million were reported. Compared to the same span in 2020, transactions increased 8.8 percent and dollar volume jumped 30.8 percent. Bray said the year-to-year decrease in closed transactions in July reflected some slowing in sales for that month and the previous two months. Low residential inventories continue to pose a challenge, he said. As of the end of July, there were 348 active listings. That’s a decrease of 19.3 percent from the same time last year. Low supplies and high demand continue to push prices upward. The median price of homes sold through the first seven months of 2021 increased 18 percent to $325,000. As for new construction, 72 building permits for single-family homes were issued in Mesa County in July, down from 79 for the same month last year. Through the first seven months of 2021, however, 585 permits were issued. That’s up 39.6 percent from the same span in 2020. Bray said residential activity could remain soft in August, but the overall market remains strong in Mesa County with dollar volume that will soon pass the $1 billion milestone. Meanwhile, property foreclosure activity continues to decrease in Mesa County, Miller said 13 foreclosure filings and 13 completed sales were reported during the first seven months of 2021. During the same span in 2020, 73 filings and 21 sales were reported. The seven resales of foreclosed property during the first seven months of 2021 constituted a fraction of all transactions and the 10 percent threshold Miller considers indicative of a healthy market. F
Small Business Optimism Index retreats A measure of optimism among small business owners has retreated on less upbeat expectations for the economy, sales and earnings as well as concerns about labor availability. The National Federation of Independent Business reported its Small Business Optimism Index fell 2.8 points to 99.7 in July. The decrease nearly erased a 2.9-point increase in June, but the index remains above its average reading of 98. “Small business owners are losing confidence in the strength of the economy and expect a slowdown in job creation,” said Bill Bill Dunkelberg Dunkelberg, chief economist of the NFIB. “As owners look for qualified workers, they are also reporting that supply chain disruptions are having an impact on their businesses,” Dunkelberg said. “Ultimately, owners could sell more if they could acquire more supplies and inventories from their supply chains.” The NFIB bases the index on the results of monthly surveys of members of the small business advocacy group, most of them small business owners. For July, six of 10 components of the index declined, three advanced and one remained unchanged. The proportion of those who responded to the survey upon which the July index was based who expect the economy to
improve over the next six months fell eight points from June. At a net negative 20 percent, more respondents indicated they expected worsening conditions. A net 26 percent reported plans to make capital outlays, up a point. A net 13 percent said they consider now a good time to expand, down two points. The share of those who said they expect higher sales dropped 11 points to a net negative 4 percent. The proportion of those reporting higher earnings fell eight points. At a net negative 13 percent, more reported lower earnings. Among those reporting lower earnings, 32 percent blamed weaker sales and 31 percent higher material costs. A net 27 percent of respondents reported plans to increase employment, down a point from a record-high reading in June. But a record 49 percent reported unfilled job openings, up three points. Asked to identify their single most important business problem, 26 percent cited labor quality and 9 percent cited labor costs. A net 38 percent of owners reported raising compensation, down a point from a record-level in June. A net 27 percent reported plans to increase compensation over the next three months, up a point to a record high. A net 6 percent reported plans to increase inventories, down five points. A net 12 percent said they consider they consider current inventories too low, up a point to a record high. F
