Alliance Bank of Arizona’s 2021 Tucson Economic Forum
Report Examines Key Indicators Driving Growth, Development
With the end of the year quickly approaching, Alliance Bank of Arizona released a Regional Intelligence Report to give business leaders an in-depth look at the key indicators driving Southern Arizona’s economy. Created by Beacon Economics, one of the nation’s leading Independent economic research and consulting firms, the report provides a broader picture of the Pima County’s overall economic health and provides a window into how current economic trends are expected to affect 2022.
Business leaders have been closely looking at labor trends and recovery. The latest data indicates that Pima County is bouncing back strong from COVID-related economic shocks from 2020. By Aug. 2021, the area regained 83% of the jobs lost between February 2020 and April 2020, outpacing national trends, which have seen the U.S. rate recovering only 75.1% of jobs over the same period.
Housing market data, which has historically been one of the steadiest and strongest indicators of the region’s economic recovery during the pandemic, has been heading on an upward incline. From February 2020 to August 2021, Pima County home prices rose 31.1% making the region’s median home value $321,100. The report delves into the key drivers behind the growth, including the impact of the labor market, mortgage rates and inventory.
The report also put commercial real estate under the microscope. While businesses were left questioning what the future of the post-COVID workplace would look like, an interesting phenomenon has emerged. Although some businesses shifted operations to virtual environments, the demand for office properties has remained constant over the last year in Pima County. Office vacancy rates hit 22.9% in the second quarter of 2021, down 1.6 percentage points from a year earlier, while the average asking rents increased 0.8% in Pima County.
Overall, as growing numbers of Arizonans become vaccinated and the economy settles into its new normal, the report points to 2022 continuing on the same upward growth trajectory. For an in-depth view of the Tucson Regional Intelligence Report, please click here.
If you are interested in viewing the presentation slides from the presentation, click here.