Economic Impressions - 2014
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1/30/2014
My impression is that Pine City’s economy, by and large, has begun to rebound from the recent recession (2009-2011). Here are some indicators to back up that assumption:
Housing
o During the recession, Pine City was resilient and built more new homes than Cambridge, North Branch, Mora and Moose Lake combined. So far, in 2014, we have already had two (2) residential building permits pulled, despite the frigid temps and less-than-ideal construction conditions. In the past 12 months, eight (8) new homes were built just in the Cross Lake Preserve development alone.
o Zillow predicts Minnesota home values will increase 1.9% next year. Foreclosures will be a factor impacting home values in the next several years here in Pine City. In the 55063 market, the number of foreclosures waiting to be sold decreased 46.1% in the last year. The number of unsold foreclosures is 222.7% higher in the townships surrounding Pine City than in Pine City itself. The sheer number of foreclosures, though still lower than the national average, may still have an impact on home values overall and may prevent home values from rising as quickly here as elsewhere in Minnesota.
o Due to a low cost of living index, 81.5 (taken March, 2012, U.S. average is 100), Pine City will continue to be an attractive place to relocate to from the Twin Cities region.
Jobs
o Throughout the last 10 years, there have been over 500 new jobs added to the community and now more than 2,000 people from all over East Central Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. Due to unique incentives offered here and our shovel-readiness, Pine City is poised to attract new businesses at a faster rate than other parts of Greater Minnesota. Several existing businesses are planning expansions.
o Pine Technical College plans to open its nearly $2 million technology business incubator and entrepreneurial center in conjunction with its customized training program early this year. There are already stage-two businesses interested in incubating locally, which if statistics don’t lie, have a high probability of locating in the area after they incubate.
o New businesses: The City is in contact with several site selectors and business leads. There is a possibility of several new businesses in Pine City in 2014.
o The unemployment rate in Pine City is about 6.6 % compared to the U.S. average of 7.3%.
Tax Base
o Voyageur Bottle Shop, the City’s longtime municipal liquor store continues to be one of the few Greater Minnesota liquor stores to turn a profit. In a recent auditor’s report (2012), all of the Pine County stores saw a profit, with the largest being Hinckley ($207,000 profit), followed by us, then Finlayson—and Hinckley and Finlayson are both on- and off-sale, so should have a much higher margin of profit than an off-sale only, like Pine City is. Around the region, Rush City saw over a $12,000 loss but Mora and Cambridge each saw profits. We were the second-most profitable liquor store in the region, behind just Isanti. This is good for a sustainable tax base, and helps offset burden to taxpayers.
Nathan | Pine City, MN