Coast river business journal., May 13, 2020, Page 5, Image 5

Coast River Business Journal
BUSINESS NEWS
May 2020 • 5
Business in Brief
Clatsop home listings down, prices up 16%
ASTORIA — There was a marked decline in Clatsop County
real estate listings in April, the first full month following Oregon’s
decision to limit face-to-face business transactions and order most
residents to stay home to avoid coronavirus infections.
Prices climbed at a brisk pace, however, according to data from
the Clatsop Association of Realtors.
Active residential listings in the county declined nearly 16%
this April compared to a year earlier, with 219 available this year
compared to 260 in April 2019.
Perhaps because potential sellers chose to hunker down rather
than take a chance on having to move in the midst of a pandemic,
new listings plunged 55% in April. Only 42 properties came on
the market, compared to 94 a year earlier, in what is ordinarily the
start of the active spring selling season. There were no new listings
below $200,000 and only eight below $300,000. Fully half of the
new listings were for more than $400,000.
Sales were completed on 41 properties during the month, down
about 23% from April 2019. Forty-four percent of April sales were
for more than $400,000. Another 49 sales were pending in April,
39.5% fewer than in April 2019.
The average selling price of Clatsop County homes went up
15.9% in April to $387,758. Over the entire first third of 2020,
prices increased 7.9% to $392,624.
The median selling price — half went for more and half for less
— increased 31% in April to $380,000, compared to $290,000 a
year earlier.
It is taking somewhat longer to make a home sale, with an
average of 120 days on the market as of this April, up from 107
days last April.
Study shows continuing importance of
Oregon Coast tourism
ASTORIA — New numbers released by Dean Runyan Associates
show that 2019 was Oregon’s 10th consecutive year of growth in
travel-spending and visitation. Although the covid-19 pandemic has
brought the travel and tourism industry to a screeching halt, the firm
observed that these numbers indicate that travel and tourism will be
a crucial part of the state’s economic recovery.
“Tourism has long been an important part of the North Coast
economy. While we appreciate visitors staying home for now to
mitigate virus spread, the result has been tough financial times
for our local businesses,” said Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber
of Commerce Executive Director David Reid. “When the stay-
home order is lifted, we’ll need visitors and locals to support our
restaurants, stores, hotels and attractions.”
Since 2008, the industry has shown steady growth in earnings and
employment, ranking second after agriculture and food. In terms
of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) the tourism industry is one of
the three largest export-oriented industries in rural Oregon counties
(the other two being agriculture/food processing and logging/wood
products).
Economic impact numbers for 2020 will be drastically different,
but these 2019 numbers reflect the impacts generated by Oregon
Coast tourism pre-covid:
• Total direct travel spending was $2 billion, a 3.6% increase over
2018.
• Total travel-generated employment was 24,260, a 3.1% increase
over 2018.
• Employee earnings were $723 million, a 7% from 2018.
OR/WA crabbers continue efforts to avoid
whale entanglements
ASTORIA — Dungeness crabbers operating out of the Clatsop
and Pacific counties appear to have been successful last year in
avoiding whales becoming entangled in gear. Whale deaths and
injuries have become a constraint on the important West Coast
industry in recent years, resulting in regulatory actions including a
delay in starting the season in California in 2019.
In 2019, entanglement reporting on the U.S. West Coast continued
to be higher than what had occurred historically prior to 2014,
although fewer reports were received than in some of the recent
record high years, according to a new report from the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Similar to recent years, humpback whales continue to be the
most common species entangled on the West Coast with 17 separate
entanglements confirmed in 2019. There were also eight gray whales
confirmed entangled and one confirmed minke whale entanglement.
In the Pacific Northwest last year, there were three gray whale
entanglement reports off the central Oregon coast, one near
Brookings and one in Puget Sound. Three humpback entanglements
were reported, including two near Neah Bay and one in the Strait of
Juan de Fuca. In none of these instances could the source of the gear
be specifically identified.
Starting this season, crabbers must implement a variety of steps
to mark gear so NOAA can better identify where there may be
problems.
The public plays an important role in saving distressed whales,
like those that become entangled. Prompt reporting and monitoring
of the animal are the best ways to help. You can report whales in
distress to either the 24/7 reporting hotline 1-877-SOS-WHALe
(767-9425) or the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF CH-16.
CMH resumes some elective procedures
ASTORIA — In response to Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s decision
to lift restrictions placed on non-emergent and elective procedures
for hospitals statewide, Columbia Memorial Hospital (CMH)
resumed offering an array of surgical services on May 1.
CMH said in a press release that it and the state Emergency
Operations Center (EOC) ensured that all five criteria put in place
by the Oregon Health Authority were achieved.These include:
TLC supports school district meal programs
LONGVIEW — TLC, a Division of Fibre Federal Credit Union,
said it has stepped up to help ensure children don’t go hungry while
schools are closed.
TLC pledged to donate up to $55,000, which will be disbursed
to help each of the 24 school districts within its service areas across
seven counties in Washington and Oregon. Collectively, these
districts serve over 37,000 total students.
A portion of the donated funds will support schools in Pacific
and Clatsop counties as a supplement to state-funded breakfasts and
lunches already offered by the schools.
Shannon Cahoon, TLC community development manager, said
the credit union is taking extra care to be responsive to the needs of
its communities during this time, especially students who depend on
school breakfasts and lunches as regular meals.
“Taking care of our youth and helping create equitable access to
economic stability are two very important tenets of our corporate
mission,” Calhoun said. “Meeting the needs of vulnerable students
and families during this challenging time is one way we can carry
out those goals.”
Pacific listings plunge, prices remain stable
LONG BEACH — Pacific County’s housing market drastically
slowed in April but prices remained stable.
There were 143 active listings in April, down 25.5% from the
same point in 2019, the Northwest Multiple Listings Service
reported. Only 35 dwellings were put on the market in April, less
than half as many as in April 2019.
Twenty-nine residential sales were completed this April, 41% less
than the 49 last April. Thirty-nine sales were pending in April, a
plunge of 53% from April 2019’s 83.
April’s median price — half went for more and half for less
— was unchanged at $190,000. (NWMLS doesn’t make average
selling prices publicly available.)
March real estate statistics for Pacific County — unavailable
when the April issue of CRBJ went to press — showed a brighter
picture, although there already were signs of slowing.
Sales were completed on 27 single-family dwellings in March,
12.9% fewer than in March 2019. There were 52 pending sales, an
11.9% decline. The median selling price of a Pacific County house
increased 12.77% in March to $219,900, up from $195,000 a year
earlier.
1. Hospital bed capacity in the region
2. Two-week (14 day) PPE supply on hand and maintained
3. Adequate testing capacity
4. Strict infection control and visitation policies
5. Necessary resources for preoperative care
“This action by the Governor, in consultation with the Oregon
Health Authority, is imperative to restarting important health care
in our community and raising the volumes in our facilities,” Erik
Thorsen, the hospital’s CEO, said.
Surgeries are prioritized based on clinical need. CMH surgeons
meet daily to review cases and determine the surgical schedule.
“The criteria above are subject to change, so we ask that our patients
wait to hear from their providers on surgeries that were postponed
due to the covid-19 pandemic,” CMH said.
CMH provides updates on its status at columbiamemorial.org.
CoastRiverBusinessJournal.com