All news is relative. Building permits are up which is good for construction and jobs. While building permits are up from last year, they’re a shell of what they were in the building boom, so you can spin the data any which way you want and we’ve seen it spun both ways recently. Good news for local jobs.
For years we’ve talked about statistics and provided updates about what’s going on in the local SW Florida real estate market. Prices go up, prices go down, sales go up, sales go down, etc. All along we’ve said supply and demand will affect the market, but ultimately the real rebound will occur when the economy improves and jobs return to the area.
Well, we’ve got some actual good news to report, and while some may spin it and say jobs are not what they used to be back in 2005, I would argue this is good news no matter how you look at it. Nationally, jobless claims rose to 380,000 which was an increase, and this doesn’t even count those who have given up seeking a job, or whom are under-employed.
Locally it’s a much better story. Two recent stories in the press touted jobs coming to SW Florida. You may have heard about a company called Arthrex that is building a $25 million manufacturing plant in Collier County. That will bring construction jobs to the area, but that’s just the beginning. According to a News Press article, the company employs 347 Lee County residents between its Plantation Rd complex and it’s North Naples facility. The company plans to add another 400-500 workers by 2016 with an average salary at its Collier facility running $59,580. Arthrex expects to have about 2,000 local workers by 2016
I spoke to Government leaders back in January and other projects like this are in the works, so we look forward to bringing more good news to our area in the future. Another local company made news this past week. CarMax announced it is hiring for about 80 positions at its news store on Colonial Blvd. CarMax is a retailer for used cars and a welcome addition to the SW Florida employment pool. By the way, if you’d like to apply for a job, visit www.carmax.com/careers
The real estate market has definitely been on the upswing since 2009. For any recovery to be sustainable, jobs have to enter the picture, and now that is happening. As inventory dwindles and more jobs come to the area, there is the potential for more construction opportunities, which fuels more jobs. SW Florida has always been home to service industry jobs and construction, and with the addition of manufacturing companies like Arthrex, it could be a boom to our local economy.
There is talk of adding convention center space and perhaps a casino in the Fort Myers area which would also be a boom to the area job wise. Gambling has always been a hotly debated topic and will always have opinions on both sides of the fence. We’ll keep our eye on this however we suspect it will take months for this decision to play out.
Foreclosures are down which is another reason prices are up. If you look at the attached chart you’ll see the median price of a traditional sale in Lee County Florida is almost double the foreclosure price. This is a function of which homes come on the market in a particular price range, but I think it’s safe to assume that traditional sales are more indicative of actual market values than distressed sales. The good news is, there were almost 600 more traditional single family home sales the 1st qtr of 2012 than there were in 2011.
Let’s keep the Good News coming! It’s hard to spin this data as anything but good.