By Amy Griffith, agriffith@nashvillecitypaper.com
May 16, 2007

Job growth in Tennessee may be slightly lower than it was last year, according to figures announced Tuesday by the Tennessee Department of Labor.

But Tennessee is probably doing a bit better than averages for the rest of the country, and high-growth industries in Nashville are helping drive the state’s performance.

From the beginning to the end of 2006, the number of jobs available in the state increased 1.3 percent, said Martha Wettemann, a statistical analyst supervisor for the state. Tennessee’s projected figure for 2007 and 2008 is 1.2 percent annually, on average.

In total, about 75,900 jobs will be added to the state economy by the end of 2008, according to state figures.

“Some people are talking about a little bit of an adjustment in 2007, but we see it improving by the end of 2008,” Wettemann said. “We’re, in some ways, doing a little bit better than the rest of the [U.S.], and not seeing the housing drop as much as in other states.”

While the state does not calculate two-year projections for individual areas, Wettemann said job additions in Nashville and Tennessee’s other urban areas is largely responsible for the growth. Industries that are growing very rapidly in Nashville – including health care, social services and technology-related fields – are driving much of the state’s job growth.

Also contributing more jobs than average across the state is the arts industry, including the music industry, which highlights some of the growth taking place locally.

“We keep seeing more growth in the arts. The arts kind of surprise us with continuing growth, and we certainly see that in Nashville,” Wettemann said.

On the short-term decline are jobs in the manufacturing sector, which is expected to lose available jobs in the next two years but sustain long-term growth through 2014. Mining will likely decline in both the short- and long-term.

San Antonio Business Journal – 8:55 AM CDT Wednesday, May 16, 2007

San Antonio has been named one of the best big cities in the country for relocating families by Worldwide ERC and Primacy Relocation.

The Alamo City has been ranked the 12th best metropolitan area for families based on housing affordability, taxes, leisure and recreation, arts and culture, air and water quality, cost of living, unemployment rates, crime, schools and population growth.

The top city in the country on the 2007 Best Cities for Relocating Families is Fort Worth, followed by Nashville, Kansas City, Indianapolis and Austin.

Worldwide ERC, based in Washington, D.C., is a company that assists employers relocating workers throughout the United States and the world.

Primacy Relocation is a third-party employee relocation provider. It helps employees arrange home sales, movers and overall logistics.

The two companies worked with Bert Sperling of Sperling’s BestPlaces to rate the top 50 cities with a population higher than 1.25 million to compile the list.

“Without a doubt, the state of the housing market is having a huge impact on relocation decisions of both employers and the families who are being transferred,” says Michelle Vallejo, Primacy’s president for the Americas. “The cities on this list represent some of the stronger real estate markets and places that are most conducive to a successful family relocation.”

Homes for sale numbers are down nationwide.

In fact, it is the worst drop in 18 years. Home sales plunged in March showing more weakness on the market than expected.

According to the National Association of Realtors , sales of existing homes nationwide fell 8.4% to an annual rate of $6.12 million in March from February’s $6.68 million rate.

It was the biggest one-month drop since January 1989.

While the Nashville market doesn’t distinguish between existing and new home sales, overall Nashville’s March numbers are up from February.

Overall, home sales in Middle Tennessee were up by 21% but they were down 11% over last year’s record-breaking March.

Realtor Jane McCracken said her out-of-state clients are surprised by how healthy the market is in the Mid-State.

She said, “But the days on the market are longer and the inventory is up so we are really having to work with our sellers and make sure they know that how important it is to price correctly in the beginning.”

For buyers like Jerry Kennon, the higher number of homes on the market works to his advantage.

He said, “Seems like there’s plenty to look at and there’s no lack of good homes on themarket.”

Green Hills’ home builder Rogan Allen, who builds homes in the $2 million plus range, said his particular niche is not suffering a bit.

He said, “My market is a kind of immune to that… I just sold two $2 million plus homes in the last four weeks.

Greater National Board of Realtors President Richard Courtney said its important to realize the difference between the national and local figures.

He said, “The thing not to confuse is our numbers were down compared to a record-breaking year and the national numbers are down from an already down year… Right now, our numbers have rebounded andsales are vibrant.”

Courtney said he doesn’t see any signs of Nashville following those national numbers any time soon.

Existing-home sales in the south dropped 6.2% to an annual sales rate of $2.41 million in March, and are 9.7% below what they were in March 2006.

The median price in the south was $180,700, up 0.4% from a year ago.