Asheville Metro Economic Report – 2017 First Quarter
Johnson Price Sprinkle PA provides Asheville Metro Economic Report – 2017 First Quarter. JPS is a sixty-year-old accounting firm serving Western North Carolina with dedicated CPAs equipping small-to-middle-market businesses with tax, business consulting, audit, and technology services.
Highlights:
The first quarter saw sustained growth and setting of several new all-time records in the four-county Asheville metro (Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson and Madison counties). Positive monthly year-to-year job growth has continued uninterrupted for eighty straight months, while the metro has held the lowest unemployment rate in the state for the last twenty-five consecutive months.
⦁ Asheville added an average of 3,900 net new jobs from a year earlier, earning an average growth rate of 2.1 percent. Positive monthly year-to-year job growth has continued uninterrupted for eighty straight months.
⦁ Averaging 4.2 percent over the first quarter of 2017, Asheville’s unemployment rate continues to hold below both the nation and state. The metro has held the lowest unemployment rate in the state for the last twenty-five consecutive months.
⦁ The Health Services sector added 1,300 jobs over the year; accounting for one-third of Asheville’s employment growth. Positive job creation was experienced in nine of eleven major industry sectors. Of the nine, six reached new all-time first quarter employment highs in 2017.
⦁ Private industry average hourly earnings in Asheville equaled $22.77 in the first quarter, an increase of 5.7 percent from a year earlier; marking the sixth straight quarter with positive year-over-year gains.
⦁ Buncombe County Hotel/Motel Sales set a new all-time first quarter high at $57 million; 11.9 percent above the first quarter of 2016. Hotel/Motel Sales have experienced double-digit percentage growth for the last eleven consecutive quarters.
⦁ Existing homes sold in the first quarter totaled 833, while the average sales price equaled $315,362. The number of homes sold is 15 percent lower than one-year earlier, while over the same period the average sales price gained 15 percent. This marks the third consecutive quarter with the number of homes sold declining, while average prices continue to increase.
⦁ Permitting for new residential building totaled 473 units in the first quarter with a value of $121 million. In percentage terms, the number of units permitted is up 7.3 percent from one year earlier, the total value up 24.1 percent.
⦁ Taxable retail sales collections in Asheville totaled $1,625,632,577 ($1.6 billion) in the first quarter; 10.9 percent above collections for the same period one-year earlier. The total sets a new all-time first quarter record for retail sales in the metro.
Detailed Analysis:
Employment
In the first quarter of 2017 Asheville added an average of 3,900 net new jobs from a year earlier, earning an average growth rate of 2.1 percent (Figure 1). Positive monthly year-to-year job growth has continued uninterrupted for eighty straight months. Employment averaged 187,800 over the quarter; setting a new all-time first quarter employment total.
Figure 1
Total Employment
Monthly Year-Year
Percent Change
Source: NC Division of Employment Security
Asheville’s employment growth rate over the first quarter of 2017 places it sixth among the state’s 15 metros (Figure 2). Asheville’s rate is above both the national and statewide rates of growth; 1.9 and 1.6 percent respectively. Three of North Carolina’s metros lost employment over the quarter; Jacksonville, Fayetteville, and Goldsboro.
Figure 2
2017 1Q Average
North Carolina Metros Employment
One-Year Percent Change
Source: NC Division of Employment Security
Averaging 4.2 percent over the first quarter of 2017, Asheville’s unemployment rate continues to hold below both the nation and state; 4.9 and 5.1 percent respectively (Figure 3). The unemployment rate translates into 9,530 residents unable to find employment. Asheville’s average unemployment rate for the quarter continues as the lowest among all the state’s fifteen metros (Figure 4). The metro has held the lowest unemployment rate in the state for the last twenty-five consecutive months. Seven of the state’s metros have quarterly unemployment rates exceeding the national average.
Figure 3
Unemployment Rates (%)
Source: NC Division of Employment Security
Figure 4
Unemployment Rate (%)
2017 1Q Average
Source: NC Division of Employment Security
The Health Services sector added 1,300 jobs over the year; accounting for one-third of Asheville’s employment growth. Positive job creation was experienced in nine of eleven major industry sectors (Figure 5). Of the nine, six reached new all-time first quarter employment highs in 2017; Health Services, Retail Trade, Leisure & Hospitality Services, Professional & Business Services, Transportation, Warehouse & Utilities and Financial Services.
Figure 5
Asheville Metro – 2017 1Q
Major Industry Employment
One-Year Change
Totals rounded to nearest 100
Source: NC Division of Employment Security
Earnings
Private industry average hourly earnings in Asheville equaled $22.77 in the first quarter, an increase of 5.7 percent from a year earlier; marking the sixth straight quarter with positive year-over-year gains (Figure 6).
Asheville’s first quarter hourly earnings place it sixth among all fifteen metros in the state; remaining below the statewide and national averages (Figure 7). Three of the state’s metros have hourly earnings above both the national and state averages; Raleigh, Charlotte, and Durham-Chapel Hill.
Figure 6
Asheville Metro
Average Hourly Earnings
Private Industry
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Figure 7
North Carolina Metros – 2017 1Q
Average Hourly Earnings
Private Industry
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Leisure & Hospitality
Buncombe County Hotel/Motel Sales set a new all-time first quarter high at $57 million; 11.9 percent above the first quarter of 2016 (Figure 8). Hotel/Motel Sales have experienced double-digit percentage growth for the last eleven consecutive quarters.
Figure 8
Buncombe County
Hotel/Motel Sales
Source: Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority
Average Hotel Room Rates in Buncombe County rose by 2.6 percent from one year earlier, a decline from the quarterly gains which averaged 7.3 percent over the previous two years (Figure 9). The room rate averaged $118 in the quarter.
Figure 9
Buncombe County
Average Hotel Room Rate
Source: Smith Travel Research, Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority
Total Passenger Traffic at the Asheville Regional Airport equaled 166,397 in the first quarter of 2017; up 19.1 percent from a year earlier (Figure 10). The quarterly percentage increase is the strongest in at least six years.
Figure 10
Asheville Regional Airport
Total Passengers
Source: Asheville Regional Airport
Source: Asheville Regional Airport
Housing
Existing homes sold in the first quarter totaled 833, while the average sales price equaled $315,362 (Figure 11). The number of homes sold is 15 percent lower than one-year earlier, while over the same period the average sales price gained 15 percent (Figure 12). This marks the third consecutive quarter with the number of homes sold declining, while average prices continue to increase.
Figure 11
Asheville Area
Existing Home Sales
Source: NC REALTORS
Figure 12
Asheville Area
Existing Home Sales Trends
Quarterly Year-Year Change (%)
Source: NC REALTORS
At 7.0 percent, Asheville’s Same-Home Annual Appreciation Rate in the first quarter ranks fifth among all the state’s metros and holds above both the state and national rates (Figure 13). This marks the sixteenth consecutive quarter of positive same-home appreciation rates in Asheville. The Goldsboro metro experienced home price depreciation in the quarter, down 2.6 percent.
Figure 13
Housing Price Index
North Carolina Metros
Same-Home Annual Appreciation Rate (%)
2017 1Q
Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency
Permitting for new residential building totaled 473 units in the first quarter with a value of $121 million (Figure 14). In percentage terms, the number of units permitted is up 7.3 percent from one year earlier, the total value up 24.1 percent. Multifamily unit permitting accounted for 13 percent of all residential units issued in the first quarter.
Figure 14
Asheville Metro
Residential Building Permits
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Retail Sales
Taxable retail sales collections in Asheville totaled $1,625,632,577 ($1.6 billion) in the first quarter; 10.9 percent above collections for the same period one-year earlier (Figure 15). The total sets a new all-time first quarter record for retail sales in the metro. Retail sales have experienced positive year-over-year growth over the last thirteen consecutive quarters; averaging an annual increase of 9.9 percent or $142.1 million.
Figure 15
Asheville Metro
Taxable Retail Sales
Includes collections of penalties, interest, and sales & use tax; and may reflect activity from prior periods.
Source: NC Department of Revenue
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