Naples #3 in Job Growth

Looking for a new job? You might want to think about heading to The Sunshine State.

For the second year in a row, Florida metropolitan areas dominate the Milken Institute Best Performing Cities Index, a measurement of where jobs are being created in America.

The 2005 Index's top three metro areas adding jobs at rapid pace are in Florida, led by this year's top-ranked metro, Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, followed by last year's top scorer, Cape Coral-Fort Myers, and Naples-Marco Island, in third place.

The Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville area is located near the John F. Kennedy Space Center and has a diversified economy with many aerospace and defense-related industries, as well as space-related tourism and a growing number of retirees.

Even severe hurricane seasons could not topple Florida's growth trends. The state's metros hold not just the index's top three slots, but five of its top six and 12 of its top 30.

"The state is creating jobs at a prodigious rate," said Ross DeVol, the Institute's director of Regional Economics and the report's lead author. "It has all the makings of a job-creating machine: good weather, low costs, a growing population, a strong tourism industry and little heavy manufacturing."

The index ranks U.S. metros based on their ability to create and sustain jobs. It includes both long-term (five years) and short-term (one year) measurements of job, wage and salary, and technology growth.

The 2005 winners have similar characteristics: strong and growing service sectors, a robust recovery in tourism, growing populations and an increase in the number of retirees. As evidence, six metros in the top 20 come from the Southwest, including three in California (Riverside, Santa Barbara and Santa Ana) and two in Arizona (Tucson and Phoenix). The other is Las Vegas.

By comparison, the Midwest has none. The top-rated Midwest metro is Madison, Wis., at 35th. Nine of the bottom 10 spots on the index were from the Midwest -- five from Michigan and four from Ohio -- reflecting the region's troubled manufacturing sector. Flint, Mich., is at the bottom at No. 200.

Big-Cities' Rankings: The top 10 performers of the 200 largest metros:
1. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla.
2. Cape Coral-Fort Meyers, Fla.
3. Naples-Marco Island, Fla.
4. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
5. Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Fla.
6. Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla.
7. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-Va.-Md.-W.Va.
8. Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Ark.-Mo.
9. Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Fla.
10. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.


Thanks to the presence of the federal government and a dramatic increase in the growth of technology firms in the region, the Washington metropolitan area is the highest-ranked of America's largest 10 cities, at No. 7, followed by Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. at No. 10 and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. at No. 15.

Small-Cities' Rankings: In what amounts to a clean sweep, another Florida metro -- Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin -- also ranked No. 1 on the Institute's separate listing of America's smallest 179 metros, followed by Bend, Ore. (2), and Prescott, Ariz. (3).
1. Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin, Fla.
2. Bend, Ore.
3. Prescott, Ariz.
4. Panama City-Lynn Haven, Fla.
5. St. George, Utah
6. Madera, Calif.
7. Kennewick-Richland-Pasco, Wash.
8. Logan, Utah-Idaho
9. Yuma, Ariz.
10. Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

The biggest movers from last year were Bremerton-Silverdale, Wash., which moved up 104 places (122nd to 18th), and Newark-Union, N.J.-Pa., which dropped 101 spots (39th to 140th).

Kate Lorenz is the article and advice editor for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.
Copyright 2006 CareerBuilder.com.

Naples MLS Stats for February 2006

MLS statistics released for improved residential property (not lots) for all Naples MLS users. The buyers are officially in a wait and see mode, evident by the weak number of pendings, while inventory continues to grow. This should lead to some VERY GOOD BUYING opportunities this spring. Sellers who have to sell should offer better pricing and be very willing to negotiate. It will probably be the best summer buying Naples has seen in years as there will be plenty of good homes to buy at good prices.

Closings For The Month Of
Feb 2006: 387
Feb 2005: 720

Pendings For The Month Of
Feb 2006: 428
Feb 2005: 1,314

YTD Closings
2006: 867
2005: 1,403

YTD Pendings
2006: 830
2005: 2,332

Inventory: 8,995 (approx. a 15 month supply) - Active (active and pending with contingency status) residential inventory in all Naples areas as retrieved from SunshineMLS today.

Prior Reports:August 2005 - September 2005 - October 2005 - November 2005 - December 2005 - January 2006

Reported By:Joe Ballarino, Broker
Amerivest Realty, Naples Florida

Naples Home Buyers Lurking

Several weeks ago I was quoted in the Naples Daily News for saying "It's a Buyer's market, but the Seller's don't know it." The immediate reaction, told to me by one of the Amerivest Realty agents was, "Thanks, Joe, my buyer decided to hold off on buying." This seems to be the general attitude of most buyers right now, they are waiting to flush out the real sellers in the market.

List prices are finally coming back to be in line with recent sales instead of the 20% - 30% above the last sale. The Naples home buyers are just lurking, waiting for the right time to start making offers. We expect this to occur late March and into April as the end of season nears. Sellers will be more inclined to sell and buyers will want to make decisions before the heat of summer.

Overall it means Naples is returning to a healthy real estate market after a "cooling off" period.

Joe Ballarino
Broker Owner
Amerivest Realty of Naples