Asheville Citizen-Times: Forum urges looser credit - Experts see promising signs in WNC
Date Posted: 6/20/2009
By Joel Burgess
The recession is loosening its grip on the Asheville area, but a credit clampdown is hampering recovery, members of an expert panel said Friday.
More than 80 people attended the government-sponsored Community Economic Forum at the Asheville Civic Center.
The event was the first of its kind in the city and convened to look for ways out of what the experts called one of the worst recessions ever seen by the city.
A one-two punch delivered first by a slumping housing market, then by a national recession that bore down on already struggling manufacturers lies at the problem's root in the Asheville area, said Tom Tveidt, Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce director of research.
The combination of those factors led to an unemployment rate of more than 9 percent earlier this year. It was the first time Tveidt said he heard of the percentage of out-of-work Asheville area residents surpassing the national figure.
“We lost 8,500 jobs in this metro area, probably the largest loss ever in this area,” he said.
The area typically is thought of as Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison and sometimes Transylvania counties.
Panel members at the forum included authorities on economic development, real estate and local government budgets.
Mayor Terry Bellamy, who served as moderator, said the forum would help people understand the local economic picture, and she picked out two players in the local economy whose health, she said, was vital to all.
“It's important that we hear and understand about what is happening with our small businesses and how they can be supported with what is happening going forward as well as our housing market,” Bellamy said.
Not all signs have been dire, the experts said.
While the local housing market slowed, it didn't reach the depths of the national housing problems.
The average home sale price dropped from its peak of $277,842 in 2007 to $237,175 this year, said Kimberly Evans, Asheville Board of Realtors president.
But the estimated values of homes have been going up an average of 1.5 percent, something not happening in other parts of the country, Evans said.
Meanwhile, smaller, more nimble manufacturers are moving in to fill some of the void left by old-school factories, members of the panel said.
Employment started to climb again in March and April, a sign that the economy may have bottomed out and begun to improve.
But many would-be small-business owners and commercial property investors are stuck in limbo.
That's due in part to overly cautious banks and lack of a state system akin to U.S. Small Business Administration's loan program, said Evans and Pam Lewis, senior program director of AdvantageWest, a publicly and privately funded business promoter.
“There are a lot of folks right now out there who would love to buy, who have the cash to put down, who have the good job, but they don't have what I consider to be a ridiculous credit score of 750 in order to qualify for a loan,” Evans said.
The Board of Realtors president urged those “who know anybody in the political arena who can make a change” to push banks to loosen credit.
Lewis said the state should create a revolving fund like the SBA to aid small-business startups with “make-it-or-break-it” loans of $35,000 to $50,000.
Other states have similar programs, she said.
“They really help bridge the gap,” Lewis said. “They come in after an entrepreneur has maxed out their credit cards, and their friends and family won't pick up the phone anymore.
The Asheville City Council and community partners held an Economic Outlook Community Forum to discuss how global economic conditions have impacted the local community and what the future holds. Panel members from left to right were, Pam Lewis from Advantage West, Tom Tveidt form the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, Jon Creighton, Buncombe County Assistant Manager, Ben Durant, City of Asheville Chief Financial Officer, and Kimberly Evans, Board of Realtors. 6/19/09 - Stephen Miller
READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE, WITH LINKS TO VIDEO OF THE EVENT AND A PHOTO GALLERY:
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090620/NEWS01/906200320
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Testimonial
In an effort to respond to the diverse economic development needs of North Carolina, then State Representative Martin Nesbitt introduced legislation creating the regional economic development partnerships. It was this extraordinary insight that allowed AdvantageWest to become one of the most innovative and nimble economic development programs in the state.
Gordon S. Myers
Founding Chair
AdvantageWest Board of Directors
Amanda Baranski
, Exec. Asst./ Asst. Corp Secretary
AdvantageWest
134 Wright Brothers Way
Fletcher, NC 28732
ph. 828-687-7234
fx. 828-687-7552
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