If you’re looking for signs that Minneapolis is faring well, comparatively, during these challenging economic times, the Federal Reserve Board is there for you.
The Federal Reserve Board recently released its latest Beige Book report on its Minneapolis District, otherwise known as the Ninth District. And commercial real estate pros will be glad to know that the most important economic signs are pointing up for the city.
For instance, consumer spending has steadily grown in the city, according to the Federal Reserve Board. The board also cited both commercial and residential real estate as growth areas.
According to the report, multi-family construction in the Minneapolis area is in a “boom” period. At the same time, the number of single-family building permits jumped in both Minnesota and North Dakota during the last month of 2011, definitely a positive sign.
The report offered plenty of positive news regarding the Twin Cities’ multi-family market, saying that rents in this sector increased during the fourth quarter of 2011 while vacancy rates fell in most markets.
The report also said that unemployment continued to fall in the region. However, the news wasn’t all good for workers in the Twin Cities: The Fed report only cited modest wage increases for employees throughout the Minneapolis/St. Paul region.
The hope is that the Beige Book report is just the start of the good news we’ll see in the Twin Cities as spring arrives. Commercial real etate professionals in the region have seen their share of suffering during the Great Recession and its slow recovery. It looks, though, as if the Twin Cities are now entering a steady, if not quite as spectacular as desired, recovery period.
