Metro Denver Economic Review

Economy and population continue to grow and increase the demand for residential and office space and indicate the potential boom in real estate market. The easy accessibility to local transportation and location will spur the economic growth and development. The local government is actively investing and planning public infrastructure construction to make it possible for the city’s future development.

The baby boomer generation began to enter traditional retirement age, it led to the higher labor force participation rates for the 65 years and over demographic as well as increased earnings. Other economic preference correlated to the population aging indicating the healthcare spending, housing preferences, and demand for goods and services will relative rise. Shift in generational plays a significant role on the business community. As baby boomers retire, business employers would retain these workers or replace their positions. Planning in advance would prevent business risks in the future.

Net migration activity in Metro Denver remained strong but also declined a bit. Demand is still strong but low inventory and affordability limited the growth in sales. Inventory of housing keeps at a low level. Thus, new housing developments may help alleviate the low inventory condition and loose the price pressure.

The low net migration activity together with lower affordability and higher interest rates may somehow stop the home price growth in the future. In 2018, the Housing price growth is expected to slow to 5% which is similar to a national rate.

Metro Denver keeps steady job growth and a lower unemployment rate compared to the US so that the area will attract new firms, talented workers, and promote entrepreneurship. It is expected to cause the wage to grow. The developed job market will attract people to reenter the labor force market and companies want to hire more skilled worker that are matched.

The pace of construction activity will remain powerful in the future as several million square feet of office and industrial space construction will continue to support the market. The large scale infrastructure projects and other public investment projects and nonprofit activity emerge at a fast speed. The metro Denver area’s eighth consecutive year of development expansion will provide huge employment opportunities and various housing options for its 3.2 million residents.

Homebuilders are responding to strong population growth, low vacancy, strong rental rates, and some of the fastest growing home prices of the metro Denver areas. Metro Denver’s home prices were 7.2 percent higher than the prior year’s level, recording the fifth largest over‐the‐year increase of the 20 cities tracked by the index. The median home price in the metro Denver rose 7.7 percent between the third quarters of 2016 and 2017, while the Boulder recorded a 10.4 percent increase during the same period.

Many factors contributed to the strong demand in the residential housing market including an improved economy, growing employment, more confident consumers, migration, and low mortgage interest rates.

The increase in tax revenue will provide a way for overcoming the challenges for managing a growing population and future obstacles including the rising costs for higher education, healthcare, and housing its thriving economy, culture of innovation, and ongoing investments in human capital.

Information technology and software: Metro Denver and is the major information technology (IT) hub between the coasts. The cluster contains companies involved in software, hardware, and telecommunications. The IT software industry is a significant economic driver. Technology related exports reaches about $100 million in this area and are the biggest exports. In the first half year of 2017, software represented the highest level of IT software venture capital funding in the state since the first half of 2005.The software industry attracts important capital and investments.

The metro Denver is the top destination for talent. The area is the nation’s second-most educated workforce and still keep a high rate of growth of population. With a large infusion of talent, the area ranks third in US for high-tech employment, fifth for proprietors as a percentage of total employment, and seventh for number of new businesses per 1,000 employees. The state’s already talented workforce remains attractive to new and expanding businesses for years to come. The talent is major force of innovation. The talent in the area makes it rank in the top 10 nationally for small business innovation research grants and patents granted per one million residents as well as third in the nation for NASA Prime grants. Today the high-tech goods account for 25% of Colorado’s $8 billion in annual exports. From high tech small firms to leading companies in aerospace, the innovation in the area contains several industries and the innovation is a major engine for growth and innovation will continue to drive job creation in the area in the future.