Clark County Business Blog
KeyBank Expands in Portland and Vancouver
3:06pm Friday, July 3, 2009
Libby Tucker Columbian staff writer
KeyBank is sticking to its plan to expand in the Portland and Vancouver metro area, reports Courtney Sherwood in today's Portland Business Journal. The bank's Oregon and Southwest Washington deposits have grown 8 percent over the past year and the bank has opened two new branches in Portland with plans for 18 more in the region by 2012.Keybank ranks fifth in market share in Portland as of June 2008 with 8.2 percent of local deposits. The bank is slightly smaller in Clark County, ranking tenth in market share with 2.3 percent of local deposits as of June 2008. Look for more updates on the bank's Clark County plans in The Columbian.
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3:06pm Friday, July 3, 2009
Libby Tucker Columbian staff writer
KeyBank is sticking to its plan to expand in the Portland and Vancouver metro area, reports Courtney Sherwood in today's Portland Business Journal. The bank's Oregon and Southwest Washington deposits have grown 8 percent over the past year and the bank has opened two new branches in Portland with plans for 18 more in the region by 2012.
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Tech sales will rise again in Q4
8:56am Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Libby Tucker Columbian staff writer
U.S. sales of hardware, software and technology services fell dramatically this year, but they're expected to rise again by late 2009, according to a report released by Forrester Research on Tuesday.Panic brougt on by the financial crisis caused sales to fall 5.1 percent in 2009, versus the 3.1 percent the firm estimated in March, according to a story in today's San Francisco Chronicle.
Forrester expects sales to increase again in the fourth quarter, with a recovery coming in 2010.
The uptick can't come soon enough for the Vancouver-area's shrinking tech companies, many of which have undergone large layoffs in the past year.
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8:56am Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Libby Tucker Columbian staff writer
U.S. sales of hardware, software and technology services fell dramatically this year, but they're expected to rise again by late 2009, according to a report released by Forrester Research on Tuesday.
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Engineering firm changes name
9:14am Tuesday, June 30, 2009
By Cami Joner Columbian staff writer
That's because "we offer services beyond engineering," said Arnie Rusten, president and chief executive officer.
In addition to civil and structural engineering, Berger/ABAM offers planning, natural resources and public involvement services to project development.
Also lost in the name change was all reference to the former The JD White Co., a Vancouver company Berger/ABAM acquired in June 2006. Previously, Berger's Vancouver office was called "JD White, a division of Berger/ABAM Engineers Inc." The JD White Co.'s founder John White continued to manage the Vancouver office until March 2008.
Federal Way-based Berger/ABAM is a privately held company that generated more than $30 million in revenue in 2008. It employs about 200 people in offices in Federal Way, Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Houston and Vancouver.
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9:14am Tuesday, June 30, 2009
By Cami Joner Columbian staff writer
After three years in the area, national engineering firm Berger/ABAM is making itself more at home in Vancouver. The company has made a slight change to its name, officially changing from "Berger/ABAM Engineers Inc." to just "Berger/ABAM."
That's because "we offer services beyond engineering," said Arnie Rusten, president and chief executive officer.
In addition to civil and structural engineering, Berger/ABAM offers planning, natural resources and public involvement services to project development.
Also lost in the name change was all reference to the former The JD White Co., a Vancouver company Berger/ABAM acquired in June 2006. Previously, Berger's Vancouver office was called "JD White, a division of Berger/ABAM Engineers Inc." The JD White Co.'s founder John White continued to manage the Vancouver office until March 2008.
Federal Way-based Berger/ABAM is a privately held company that generated more than $30 million in revenue in 2008. It employs about 200 people in offices in Federal Way, Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Houston and Vancouver.
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Home sales decline, values plummet
5:03pm Thursday, June 11, 2009
By Cami Joner Columbian staff writer
Sales of new and pre-owned homes in Clark County inched up from April to May, but the still-sluggish market and a spike in local foreclosures are dragging down home values.
The median price of all new and pre-owned homes sold in May was $210,000, according to benchmarks, a service of Riley & Marks appraisal firm. In May 2008, Clark County's median was $251,000. That represents a 16.3 percent year-over-year decline.
Shrinking sales prices are due in part to the county's rising number of short sale listings, said Sharry McNeel, a Realtor and sales associate with Coldwell Banker Barbara Sue Seal Properties in Vancouver.
Time-consuming short-sale transactions - in which homeowners negotiate to get their lenders to take less than is owed on the mortgage - can cause deal-killing backups as buyers wait for months to hear whether the bank has accepted their offer.
"Until they can get some of these short sales off the market or moved, it's tough. There's a big clog in the drain," McNeel said.
Countywide sales totalled 410 homes in May, a 17.7 percent decline from the May 2008 total of 498. Median price of pre-owned homes sold last month was $208,750, down from $246,000 in the same month last year. The median price of a new home was $248,212, down from $279,900 a year ago.
It's hard to tell whether the free fall in prices is nearing bottom, said Dick Riley, a Riley & Marks co-owner.
"If we haven't, it's scary. When you look at a median of $210,000, that's really low," he said.
Riley blamed job security and the county's rising unemployment rate at 13.4 percent in April for slow home sales that have kept many buyers sidelined since 2007.
"When in doubt what do people do? They don't do anything," Riley said. "They hunker down."
He pointed out the market's positives, such as the county's high inventory of homes listed for sale, softening prices and mortgage interest rates that remain below 6 percent, despite inching upward.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 5.59 percent this week, up from 5.29 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac. The last time the average 30-year mortgage was higher was the week of Nov. 26, when it averaged 5.97 percent.
Low interest incentive
Low loan rates could be one reason May saw an uptick in the new-home sales category, as homebuilders worked to clear their backlog of inventory.
For the month, 77 new homes were sold, compared with 48 new homes in April and 53 new homes in March.
"The builders pay higher interest rates," McNeel said.
That has cut the profits of new-home builders over the past year, said Michael Shanaberger, sales and marketing director for Manor Homes in Vancouver.
"We're not really taking a loss, we're just not making any money," he said.
Other homebuilders say they are scrambling to sell off "spec" houses, homes that were built without a buyer in hand.
Kevin Wann, president of Vancouver-based Pacific Lifestyle Homes, said he sees the market stablizing.
"I am encouraged that people are out there," Wann said. "It doens't feel like it's continuing to drop."
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5:03pm Thursday, June 11, 2009
By Cami Joner Columbian staff writer
Sales of new and pre-owned homes in Clark County inched up from April to May, but the still-sluggish market and a spike in local foreclosures are dragging down home values.
The median price of all new and pre-owned homes sold in May was $210,000, according to benchmarks, a service of Riley & Marks appraisal firm. In May 2008, Clark County's median was $251,000. That represents a 16.3 percent year-over-year decline.
Shrinking sales prices are due in part to the county's rising number of short sale listings, said Sharry McNeel, a Realtor and sales associate with Coldwell Banker Barbara Sue Seal Properties in Vancouver.
Time-consuming short-sale transactions - in which homeowners negotiate to get their lenders to take less than is owed on the mortgage - can cause deal-killing backups as buyers wait for months to hear whether the bank has accepted their offer.
"Until they can get some of these short sales off the market or moved, it's tough. There's a big clog in the drain," McNeel said.
Countywide sales totalled 410 homes in May, a 17.7 percent decline from the May 2008 total of 498. Median price of pre-owned homes sold last month was $208,750, down from $246,000 in the same month last year. The median price of a new home was $248,212, down from $279,900 a year ago.
It's hard to tell whether the free fall in prices is nearing bottom, said Dick Riley, a Riley & Marks co-owner.
"If we haven't, it's scary. When you look at a median of $210,000, that's really low," he said.
Riley blamed job security and the county's rising unemployment rate at 13.4 percent in April for slow home sales that have kept many buyers sidelined since 2007.
"When in doubt what do people do? They don't do anything," Riley said. "They hunker down."
He pointed out the market's positives, such as the county's high inventory of homes listed for sale, softening prices and mortgage interest rates that remain below 6 percent, despite inching upward.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 5.59 percent this week, up from 5.29 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac. The last time the average 30-year mortgage was higher was the week of Nov. 26, when it averaged 5.97 percent.
Low interest incentive
Low loan rates could be one reason May saw an uptick in the new-home sales category, as homebuilders worked to clear their backlog of inventory.
For the month, 77 new homes were sold, compared with 48 new homes in April and 53 new homes in March.
"The builders pay higher interest rates," McNeel said.
That has cut the profits of new-home builders over the past year, said Michael Shanaberger, sales and marketing director for Manor Homes in Vancouver.
"We're not really taking a loss, we're just not making any money," he said.
Other homebuilders say they are scrambling to sell off "spec" houses, homes that were built without a buyer in hand.
Kevin Wann, president of Vancouver-based Pacific Lifestyle Homes, said he sees the market stablizing.
"I am encouraged that people are out there," Wann said. "It doens't feel like it's continuing to drop."
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 Cami Joner covers real estate, retail and all kinds of other business topics for The Columbian. She blogs about the small and large companies that shape our region and posts updates on the latest breaking business news. |
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