Tri-City Area and Real Estate Blog

We’ve certainly had our fair share of rain this spring, in fact, more than our share in the opinion of most Tri-Citians. This spring has brought us weather we aren’t used to, mainly the wet stuff, and with that rain come the headaches that hay farmers and orchardists would rather avoid.  In the wee hours of the morning of late, this writer has heard the low chop-chop-chop of helicopters flying above the orchards in an attempt to dry the rain from their crop of cherries. If the water sits too long, the sun comes out and the temperature warms up – the dreaded split occurs and there goes the profit. The hay growers in Franklin County lost more than 70% of the 1st cutting lost to rot and asparagus farmers have been affected as well. Unfortunately, Mid-Columbia farmers have experienced these weather-related losses and thus the visit from the state’s top agricultural chief to determine the need for federal disaster funds. Growers have asked Dan Newhouse, Washington Department of Agriculture Secretary, to visits farms from Franklin to Walla Walla Counties to assess the damage with hopes of receiving federal compensation for the losses.

Once again the Tri-Cities has resisted the downward trend of property values across the nation, and finds itself in contrast with rising property valuations. Franklin County has been the fastest growing county in the state for the last two years and also one of the fastest growing in the nation. Officials in Franklin County expect values to continue to rise at an average of 3-4 percent as they prepare to mail out revaluation notices within the next month. Benton County anticipates remaining at the current level.

Many other communities within our state are facing devaluation at a significant rate which in turn decreases their tax base. For many its been decades since they’ve lost ground in property valuations. According to a recent market survey in the Tri-Cities, the first quarter of 2010 shows that the median residential resale price encompassing the bicounty area is $176,600, thus being an almost 6 percent increase over the entire year of 2008.

Franklin County continues to see it’s main increase in values due to the development of West Pasco and some large farms. Meanwhile, there are some pockets of decrease in the county, mostly around the Connell area because of unspecified market conditions there.

Much of the success of the Tri-Cities’ ability to remain strong, is due to the stimulus money that came into the Hanford cleanup projects, however, many individuals and organizations have worked diligently to diversify our community so that not all economic strength comes from strictly the Hanford area, but instead comes from growth in agricultural, food processing, and tourism dollars. They have been very successful in their endeavors which in turn have created the economic stability that the Tri-Cities and surrounding communities enjoy today.

4000+ students from Tri-City elementary and middle schools gathered in Columbia Park to wish a fond farewell to the salmon fingerlings they have watched grow in their classrooms for the past 3 months. The 10th Annual Salmon Summit was held at Columbia Park in Kennewick on May 4th near the blue bridge. Throughout the period when the students were watching the fish, they learned about the stages of life for the salmon and about what the name “salmon” means, which is “jumping fish’.  Each of the past 10 years the Benton and Franklin Conservation Districts have established this release event, with students putting the fish into small cups and then releasing them into the waters of the mighty Columbia River.  It will be approximately 4 years before the salmon return to this area after their long and arduous trip down the river to the ocean.

• The Chamber of Commerce of West Richland is accepting nominations for its Outstanding Citizen of the Year award, which will be held January 22nd. Nominees should be be a Chamber member or work or live in the West Richland area. Call 967-0521 for more information.

• January 27 is the date for the 11th annual TRIDEC Regional Economic Outlook conference at TRAC in Pasco. The conference consists of business leaders and government officials. Call 735-1000 for details.

• $37 million was awarded to Tri City small businesses over 2009 through Washington River Protection Solutions, the Hanford Tank Operations contractor. Businesses in Benton, Franklin and Yakima counties benefited.

• A $500,000 donation to the Tri Cities WSU branch and Columbia Basin College to support local higher education, was recently made by Washington River Protection Solutions, the Hanford Tank Operations contractor, with the majority of the funding to go into science, technology and engineering programs at both facilities.

Federal stimulus money and a warm spring helped the Tri-Cities show some job growth at a time when other Washington communities are losing jobs.

Since May 2008, the Tri-Cities has gained 500 jobs in professional and business services, education and health services, leisure, hospitality and food services, said regional labor economist Dean Schau.

And since April, the local economy added 1,200 jobs — some of them seasonal — to bring the total nonfarm jobs to 95,200 in May.

That was thanks largely to Hanford and the construction, food processing, wholesale and retail trade areas, Schau said,

And though the number of workers in the community grew by 5,640 to a rate in Benton and Franklin counties dropped from 7.7 percent in April to 7.2 percent in May.

That’s a testimony to the fact that the Tri-Cities is continuing to grow, Schau told the Herald. “If you create 1,000 jobs, you’ll have 1,200 workers come in. That’s been like that for years.”

Several areas of the economy benefited from the federal stimulus money and the warmer weather that helped produce a good asparagus crop and drew tourists particularly from Western Washington.

Local employers including those in agriculture, food processing, retail and hospitality businesses, lately have come to WorkSource looking for employees for the season ahead, said Candice Bluechel, business services outreach manager at WorkSource Columbia Basin.

Many companies are even offering full-time, long-term jobs in security and transportation, she said, adding it could be a spinoff of stimulus projects.

“I’m feeling optimistic,” she said.

In contrast, Washington’s unemployment rate increased to 9.4 percent in May from the revised April unemployment rate of 9 percent, as the state lost 6,700 nonfarm jobs mostly in construction, information, financial and government areas last month.

In the Tri-Cities, the food services industry added about 100 jobs last month, and about 300 jobs since last May, said Schau, who is staying on with the state Department of Employment Security indefinitely despite his recent announcement of plans to leave the agency.

He said he suspects people are spending their money locally instead of vacationing far from home. Warm temperatures, wineries and outdoor activities may have lured many of them to the Tri-Cities.

Also, professional and business services, which includes engineering and wastes services, added 100 new jobs in May and about 400 for the year, Schau said.

For the next two to three years, Hanford cleanup will provide new jobs and save positions that were supposed to be eliminated, said Carl Adrian, president and CEO of Tri-City Development Council.

But the Tri-Cities is also being discovered by corporate America, which will help the area in the long run to diversify economically, Adrian said. For example, Cascade Natural Gas recently announced plans to move its main office to the Tri-Cities from Seattle.

Last month, the local government sector added 100 jobs as cities hired workers for summer recreational programs. But job growth in federal government has remained flat since April 2008, when it peaked at 1,300, Schau said.

The availability of a lot of fresh produce helped the warehousing sector gain 300 positions in May, compared with April. Growth in the financial services industry, which includes banking and real estate, remained stagnant. May saw a loss of 200 jobs compared with May a year ago. The health services industry also gained 100 positions in May.

Good weather helped create seasonal agricultural jobs, pushing the number of hires from 8,500 in April to 11,800 in May, Schau said. He said he expects seasonal ag hiring to continue because the cherry crop is expected to be good.

In late June and early July, workers will be needed for taking care of onions, peaches, apricots, watermelons and cantaloupe, said Bluecheel of WorkSource.

But no one is yet talking about an immediate recovery from the recession.

The state lost 116,000 jobs in the last year, a 3.0 percent decrease. “We’re still losing jobs, but at a lower rate than before,” said Mary Ayala, chief economist for the state Department of employment Security Department.

Source: Tri-City Herald