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The Colorado Business Conditions Index from Creighton University rose to 70.0 in December from 61.9 in November.  The Mountain States Index also increased, rising to 61.2 from 56.6.  The Vectra Bank Colorado Small Business Index rose to 94.8 in December from 92.7 in November, reflecting rising unemployment and lower interest rates.
The November economics indicators provided by economist David Bamberger showed that five indicators improved and three worsened.  He commented that the local economy was performing much better than in 2001-2003.

Employment: 

Colorado’s unemployment rate rose 0.4 percentage points to 4.5% in December, with 10,600 more people out of work than in November and 15,000 more people unemployed than a year ago.  Both the labor force and the number of people working declined between November and December.  Wage and salary employment rose 2.0% for the year, with 45,500 more people were at work than in December 2006. There were job losses in construction and manufacturing.  Employment data will be revised in early March.
The Colorado Springs Economic Development Corporation assisted the city in obtaining 2,462 primary jobs in 2007, including expansions by nine local companies.  The jobs will pay an average salary of about $47,000.

Job Changes 2007

Leprino Foods is considering Greeley, Colorado for a mozzarella cheese factory that would employ 500.  Leprino, headquartered in Denver, is the nation’s largest producer of mozzarella cheese. 

Spending:

Retail sales in the state rose 8.9% through August, to $92.3 million
In El Paso County, new cars and trucks titled in 2007 rose 2.3% to 23,512.  Although better than the 2.6% national decline, titles were substantially below 2001-2005.

Finance:

Colorado had three initial public offerings in 2007, down from five in 2006, according to Renaissance Capital.  However, volume increased 17.9% to $988 million.  Nationally, IPOs rose 18.2% to 234 and volume increased 25.6% to $54 billion.
Venture capital investment in Colorado fell 14.6% to $564.2 million in 2007, according to Pricewaterhouse Coopers.  Nationally, venture capital investments rose to a six-year high of $29.4 billion.

Population:

Colorado ranked 8th in 2006 in inmigration, with 4.2% of our population moving from another state.  19.6% of us moved to a new residence, making the state the 7th most mobile.  Nationally, 57% of those who relocated were under 30, while only 5% were 65 or over. 

Tourism: 

Colorado’s hotel occupancy rate averaged 63.7% in 2007, 1.3 percentage points higher than in 2006, according to the Rocky Mountain Lodging Report.  However, December’s 47.9% rate was substantially below a year early, when it was 50.4%.  For the year, the average room rate increased 8.5% to $123.47.  Vail had the highest occupancy rate in December, while Estes Park and Colorado Springs had the lowest.
Grand Junction reported a 24% increase in lodging tax revenues in 2007, to $1.31 million.  Strong demand from oil and gas workers added to the usual tourist traffic.    Grand Junction reported a 73.9% occupancy rate for the year, up over ten percentage points in the last two years. 

Passenger traffic at Denver International Airport rose 4.8% through November, while air cargo was down 5.8%.  The Colorado Springs Airport reported a 0.3% increase in enplaned passengers through October, with the month up 13.1% relative to October 2006.

Colorado casinos generated $816.2 million in adjusted gross proceeds in 2007, up 4.4% to a new record.  Black Hawk’s 20 casinos accounted for 71% of the total. 
The first three months of Colorado’s ski season brought 2.87 million visitors to 26 resorts, according to Colorado Ski Country USA.  This was 12.5% below the 2006 record.

Housing:

Housing permits fell 23.5% through November, with single-family permits down 31.7%.  Multifamily permits rose 10.4% for the state and 25.5% in metro Denver.
Single-family home sales in metro Denver fell 0.9% in 2007, but December sales were slightly higher than a year ago.  The average and median price fell about 2% for the year, but were 11% below a year earlier in December.  Multifamily sales declined 0.8% and prices were off 4.5%.  Single-family inventories were down slightly for the year, but above December 2006.  Multifamily inventories dropped 9.7% for the year and 23.8% for the month. 

In Colorado Springs, existing single-family home sales fell 14.1%.  The average sales price was 4.1% below December 2006, while the median price was off 8.7%.  The inventory of homes for sale was up 15.6%.  Multifamily sales were down 50.6% for the month and 14.1% for the year.  Prices were down 4.21% and 8.7% respectively for the month but up 2.5% for the year.

Colorado had one foreclosure filing for every 320 households in November, according to RealtyTrac.  This was a 19.5% increase from October and a 27.2% increase from a year ago.  The state had the nation’s fourth highest foreclosure rate and Greeley, Colorado, had the seventh highest metro area foreclosure rate.

Nonresidential:

The value of nonresidential contracts in Colorado rose 11.4$ in 2007 to $4.9 billion.  In 2006 they were up a revised 4.6%.  Big gains in office, industrial, hospital and public building contracts offset declines in manufacturing and education.  Grand Junction had the largest percentage increase and Pueblo had the largest decline.

Grubb and Ellis reported a significant decline in office deals in Denver in the fourth quarter, as cap rates doubled from 3% to 6%.  Sales volume fell 11%, after increasing 59% in the first three quarters.  The vacancy rate increased slightly, to 14.4%.  CBRE reported a 12.6% vacancy rate (down), with 17.4% available (up).  Ross data were not yet available.  Each firm calculates vacancy rates using a different methodology.

Commercial real estate had a $23.4 billion economic impact in Colorado in 2006, according to a study for the National Associations of Industrial and Office Properties.  There were almost 2 billion square feet of income-producing property in Colorado, with 84% along the Front Range.  Almost 70% of the industry’s jobs (137,832) and revenues came from people maintaining and operating existing buildings.  Commercial property taxes paid totaled $1.8 billion.