Colorado Economy and Housing
Some predictions for the 2018 year. Colorado’s employment and population growth will slow for a third consecutive year in 2018.
Regional economic highlights:
Boulder County The area continues to outperform the state with a highly educated workforce, a high quality of life and a world-class research university.
Kit Carson County Low commodity prices and the prison closure put eastern Colorado in a difficult economic position. Farm conditions are stabilizing, but balance sheets will continue to be less than stellar. Tourism is a bright spot, with strong visitor numbers at the Colorado Welcome Center along Interstate 70.
La Plata County Tech and the outdoor industry are doing well. The Southwest Colorado Accelerator for Entrepreneurs (SCAPE) is helping entrepreneurial ventures. Demand for construction and real estate will slowly provide a foundation for growth. Optimism among business leaders remains high, but underemployment is expected to continue.
Mesa County added as many people to its population in 2016 as it did in the five years between 2010 and 2015. Employment was nearly flat in 2017, but the business and economic outlook are trending upward. A declining unemployment rate, growing business diversification, and a strong real estate market position Mesa County for growth in 2018.
Northern Colorado with a highly educated workforce and growing technology and entrepreneurship sectors, Weld and Larimer counties are more attractive than ever. Weld County continues to be a leader in agriculture production exports.
Pueblo In 2017, the Pueblo area marked its lowest unemployment since 2000, at 3.5 percent. The aerospace, hemp, and rail industries set up the Pueblo area for further growth in 2018.
Southern Colorado While Colorado Springs has traditionally lagged behind Denver and Boulder, that is no longer true. El Paso County added more than 10,000 jobs in the last year. Increased productivity is boosting the standard of living and the quality of life. The city is on track to outperform the nation in employment and wage increases. That should continue in 2018, making the region a smart choice for business growth and new investment.
Key industry growth forecasts
Construction 1.5 percent growth; 2,500 jobs
Education and health services 2.5 percent growth; 8,400 jobs
Financial activities 1.2 percent growth; 2,000 jobs
Government 1.1 percent growth; 4,600 jobs
Information 0.4 percent growth; 300 jobs
Leisure and hospitality 1.9 percent growth; 6,200 jobs
Manufacturing 1.1 percent growth; 1,600 jobs
Natural resources and mining 4.4 percent growth; 1,100 jobs
Professional and business services 2.4 percent growth; 10,000 jobs
Trade, transportation, and utilities 1.9 percent growth; 8,700 jobs
Other services 1.6 percent growth; 1,700 jobs
Total 1.8 percent growth; 47,100 jobs
Metro Denver region isn’t building enough homes to keep up with population gains. But Colorado’s net migration is slowing, partly due to higher housing costs, which should allow builders more space to catch up.
Colorado builders are expected to pull 23,700 single-family permits in 2017 and 26,000 in 2018, according to the University of Colorado’s Colorado Business Economic Outlook.
To keep costs in check, builders have increasingly turned to townhomes, which accounted for 26 percent of the new homes added in the third quarter, the highest share on record. Condo construction is also expected to ramp up next year.
Multifamily developers, dominated by apartments, are expected to add 17,000 units this year and 17,400 in 2018. If that happens, it would be the third year of an unprecedented streak.
All that new supply is helping keep rents in check. An estimate of the median apartment rent in Denver is up only 1.6 percent this year. Rent gains are running hottest in Broomfield, at 5.8 percent, and are nearly flat in Englewood, at 0.8 percent.