Northwest Arkansas Receives High Honors in Forbes’ List of Best and Worst Cities for Recession Recovery
June 16th, 2009 categories: News and Events
Northwest Arkansas has been ranked the #2 best place for recession recovery according to research done by Forbes magazine. We all know Northwest Arkansas is a great place to live and work. Now the rest of the country knows it too. What that mean for the future is good news for all of us in Northwest Arkansas…
As the article in Forbes says, “What better way to sit pretty during a recession than to have the ultimate recession-proof company headquartered in your neighborhood.” People can say what they want about Wal-mart but I think we could all give a quick thank-you to the retail giant that has helped us weather the on-going storm.
A quick rundown of the Forbes article.
Northwest Arkansas placed second behind Austin Texas as a candidate for quick recovery. Other areas that made the list were:
- Boulder Colorado
- Huntsville Alabama
- San Antonio Texas
- Mobile Alabama
- Dallas-Fort Worth
- Washington DC
- McAllen Texas
- Seattle-Tacoma Washington
The article’s choices were based on several criteria:
- Moody’s projected gross domestic product (GDP) of metropolitan areas across the US
- Unemployment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Home prices, incomes and affordability data from the National Association of Home Builders
The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) has a current GDP of $13.9 Billion and an estimated GDP of $14.5 Billion by the end of 2010. After a quick visit to the calculator, I see that’s an increase of over 4.3% in Gross Domestic Product over the next 18 months.
Unemployment is much lower than the national average at 5.0% and you can see our most current home prices in the market conditions section of this site.
What’s this mean for the Northwest Arkansas Housing Market?
It depends on your situation. If you are planning on buying a home but aren’t buying until the fall of 2009 or later, this isn’t really good news for you. As you’ll see in our upcoming market and home prices report, absorption rates are stabilizing, prices are higher than they were a few months ago, and interest rates are up a percentage point from their lows of a few weeks ago. All things being considered though…there is still a large selection on the market and some killer deals to be had this summer.
If you are a homeowner, business owner, or just a Northwest Arkansas resident…this is some pretty good news that will only get better. Higher home prices means more disposable income, which means more spending and saving, which ultimately means a happier, healthier economy here at home.
Here’s a sneak peak of what you’ll see in the home prices report this month…
I don’t know how you read it but I read “the bottom has passed.” There’s still time to get in on some deals of the century though. Contact EXIT Pro Realty today to find out more about the 8,000 tax credit, low interest rates, RD loan program, and a host of other great things that make now the right time to buy.
