Tri-City Area and Real Estate Blog

Its doubtful that anyone really misses the year 2009. From purely an economic standpoint, it was as unforgiving a year as most of us have ever seen. With that being said, it did have some highlights.

Business-wise, the most satisfying moment came at the end when we realized that inspite of this year’s challenge’s and “tests”, the agents of Distinctive Properties, Inc., fought back with all their skills, knowledge and ambition to made it a much better year than 2008. The company’s sales volume — in what will surely enter the recond books as one fo the worst years ever for real estate — had actually surpassed its 2008 sales volume by 15%.

This is especially gratifying to us because it means we were able to satisfy more buyers and sellers in a year when every closed transaction was a small triumph for everyone involved.

Meanwhile, if you are buying in 2010, please know that our agents skillfully negotiated more transactions in 2009 than in 2008! If you are contemplating selling in the New Year, it’s worth knowing that our agents routinely bring buyers to the closing table nearly twice as often as our next closet competitor . The combination of these has kept Distinctive Properties, Inc., in sales volume across every price range and corner of our Tri Cities, Washington real estate market.

With the new renovated Business Building at CBC in Pasco, Washington, the construction was a mix of new environmentally friendly with a look into the past, which included keeping a portion of a brick wall from the original structure built back in the 1950’s.

In CBC’s new Business Building, you can see some new flat-screened monitors which will show about the building project. Fall classes will start on September 21st at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Washington.

For more information, view this story at: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/kennewick_pasco_richland/story/716031.html

The Tri-Cities can thank federal stimulus money and highway construction work for helping the community weather the recession better than many other Washington communities, a state economist says.

Federal stimulus money for Hanford cleanup and ongoing road work helped the Tri-Cities buck the state trend and show an increase in jobs last month, said Dean Schau, regional labor economist.

The latest data released Tuesday by the State Employment Security Department shows Tri-City nonfarm jobs in June grew 1.36 percent over the year, and were up about 1.57 percent since May.

The tally showed 97,200 non-agricultural jobs for the month, an increase of 1,300 jobs over the year.

Gains were reported largely in professional and business services, and administrative and support services. Although construction was down 600 jobs over the year, the sector added 200 jobs in June compared with May, Schau said.

Public sector employment was up 800 since June 2008 and 100 since May. About 60 percent of the increase was at local school districts, which suggests continued economic and population growth, Schau said.

The unemployment rate in the Tri-Cities dropped from 7 percent in May to 6.8 percent in June despite an increase of 5,950 workers in the total labor force of 134,000. There were 9,130 people looking for work in the Tri-Cities last month.

In contrast, the state’s unemployment rate climbed from 9.1 percent in May to 9.3 percent in June. The national unemployment rate was 9.5 percent in June.

Employment Security reported the state also lost an estimated 10,500 nonfarm jobs last month. In all, Washington had 117,800 fewer jobs in June, compared with June 2008, a decline of 4 percent.

The Tri-Cities managed to do OK thanks largely to federal support for Hanford cleanup, Schau said. Agriculture, food processing and power generation provide an additional cushion for the area economy with both seasonal and permanent jobs, he added.

That doesn’t mean some people aren’t hurting, Schau said. “Ask anyone who’s been laid off or is looking for a job and they’ll tell you there’s a lot of pain out there,” he said.

People also aren’t spending money, particularly on big-ticket items, which explains why the retail sector saw a loss of 600 jobs over the year, Schau said. The decline also likely was caused by the recent closure of national chain stores like Circuit City in Richland and Joe’s Sports in Kennewick.

The silver lining is that at least some consumers still are eating out or sipping wine locally, Schau said. He said that perhaps helps account for an increase of 100 jobs in the food service industry in June. Together with leisure and hospitality, the food services sector provided more than 16,000 jobs last month.

That trend was mirrored stateside, where the leisure and hospitality sector added 500 jobs last month and the retail industry lost 2,100 jobs.

Laurin Rogers, who was laid off in October from his $20 an hour job as an aviation technician in Pasco, said the Tri-Cities offers jobs opportunities even during these tough times. Government contract work at Hanford and potential jobs it will create elsewhere will help the community get through the recession, Rogers said.

Instead of choosing a lower-paying job in a different field, Rogers, 49, said he decided to go to Columbia Basin College to pursue a business degree. He said he wants to get into project management and is working to improve his leadership skills.

Candice Bluechel, business services outreach manager at WorkSource Columbia Basin, said she hopes the community can build on the momentum provided by the federal dollars. Lockheed Martin and Washington URS, which recently got non-stimulus federal money, are still looking for skilled workers for local projects, Bluechel said. Most of those jobs are technical, she said.

Hiring for seasonal agricultural jobs also is in full swing, she said. And some restaurants and hotels are trying to hire. Other sectors of the economy aren’t offering many job opportunities, she said. “Nobody is hiring in a big way.”

Bluechel said retailers may start to hire again for the back-to-school season. For example, Amazon.com recently inquired about holding a local job fair, she said. Those looking for jobs can check out the WorkSource website www.go2worksource.com for more than than 1,200 current openings.

Source: Tri-City Herald

Food processing gross sales in Benton County reached $727 million 2007 and were $126 million in Franklin County.

And food processing jobs provided $130 million in wages in Benton and Franklin counties in 2007 – a 20 percent increase in three years.

The those food processing industry has played a significant role in the area’s economy for many years, but those jobs likely have never had more value than now.

Over the past year, Benton and Franklin counties have lost about 1,000 jobs, mostly in construction, said Dean Schau, Washington Employment Security Department regional labor economist.

But the area’s fertile agriculture industry coupled with humans’ basic need for food, makes the industry more recession resistant than others.  “People always have to eat,”  Schau said.

There are more than 200 varieties of fruits, vegetables, grains and berries, grown in Benton and Franklin counties, including appleas, aspargas, barlet, carrots, corns, cherries, grapes, peas, onions, pears, peaches, wheat and potatoes.

And in the past seven years, food processing employment has increased by more than 80 percent, according to state statistics. “One of every 10 food processing workers in the state is here,” said Schau.

The area’s major food processing emploeyers include ConAgra/Lamb Weston, Twin City foods, Resers and Pasco Processing, which was formerly JR Simplot. Lamb Weston, with more than 2,100 workers, is the fourth-largest employer in the Tri-Cities.

The Mid-Columbia provides a perfect environment for agriculture processing companies, where they are close to the food source and have adequate trasnsportation, including rail and barge access down river to the Port of Portland.

Schau said in 200, there were 28 individual food processers in Benton and Franklin counties, mostly processing potatoes and fruit juice. And the area’s wine industry, which i also tallied under food processing category by the state, included a dozen wineries with 275 year-round jobs.

Now more than 80 plants, including wineries, can be counted in the two counties.

They include the major players, a growing number of wineries, and a handful of people making speialty items, like Chukar Cherries and Apres Vin, a Prosser company that produces gourmet varietal grape seed ol.

“Food processing is one of our target industries,” said Carl Adrian, presiden of the Tri-Cities Industrial Development Council.  Adrain said much of the food processing dome in the area is “one-step” – taking fresh produce off the farms and freexing or pakcinf it, or making frozen potato products.

He said TRIDEC is researching what it can to do attract companies who produce convenience foods, like Reser’s.

“That’s the next step, pot pies, Hot Pockets – these jobs tend to require more background and many require a clean room”, he said.

The recession’s impacts on the sales of the processed convenience foods may not be great, but the economic situation is preventing many companies from expanding right now, Adrian said.

“We had a fairly significant food processor who had been looking at the area, but that project has been put on hold, partly bcause of the economy,” said Adrian. “Capital markets right now make it hard for them to expand.”

 Source: Tri City Herald

June 15:

Summer Sizzle Grilling Class & Dinner: 6pm – 9pm. StoneRidge Event Center, 5960 Burden Blvd., Pasco

June 16:

Financial Planning Workshop Series: 4:30pm – 6pm, WSU Tri-Cities, E Bldg, R212, 2710 University Dr, Richland.

June 17:

Young Professionals of Tri-Cities Meeting: 5:30pm – 7:30pm, Allied Arts Gallery, 89 Lee Blvd., Richland

Energy from the Vacuum – 10-part series: 7pm – 9pm, R242 CBC Health Science Center, 8912 Northgate, Richland.

June 18:

Kennewick Avenue Farmers Market. 9am – 1pm, Key Bank parking Lot, Auburn St & Kennewick Avenue, Kennewick

Pioneer Dance Tunes of the Far West: 7pm – 9pm, Mid-Columbia Library, 1620 S Union, Kennewick

June 19:

Richland Farmer’s Market – Market at the Parkway: 9am – 1pm, The Parkway, Richland

Three Rivers Senior Life Show: 11am – 5:30pm. Allied Arts Gallery, 89 Lee Blvd., Richland

June 20:

Pasco Farmers Market: 8am – 12pm. Fourth Avenue (between Lewis & columbia Streets), Pasco

Country Nesters Marketplace Antiques & Collectibles Show. 9am – 4pm, Howard Amon Park, Richland.

Get Your Hands on Astronomy: 1:30pm – 4pm LIGO Hanford Observatory, Richland

2009 World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions: 2pm – 4pm Toyota Center, 7000 W Grandridge, Kennewick

Spring must be here…I found three golf balls in my backyard this weekend.  Since the golfers are back on the course these days, I’m wondering how many know that the Canyon Lakes Golf Course is rated 4 1/2 Stars by Golf Digest and is the highest rated golf course in the Tri-Cities?  Additionally, Canyon Lakes Golf Course is tied as the highest rated golf course in Washington State!  And, Northwest Travel magazine selected Canyon Lakes as one of the “18 of the Best in the Pacific Northwest.”

Here are a few more facts about the award winning golf course right in our own backyard.  For example, Hole #12 is famous for being the largest green in the Pacific Northwest–a 12,000 square foot thing of beauty!  Hole #9 was selected as one of the Northwest’s Dream 18 Holes!  The Canyon Lakes Golf Course not only has won multiple awards, but also plays host to a number of prestigious tournaments and charity events each year.  If you are planning a golf outing and want more information, visit golf@canyonlakesgolfcourse.com.   And, don’t forget to wow your friends with the facts, now that you know that Canyon Lakes Golf Course is so highly rated!

Your Canyon Lakes Realtor,

Sharon Sasser Warren,                                                                           Distinctive Properties, Inc.                                                                             (509) 551-4393