Howard County?s business leaders acknowledge they?re preparing to navigate through a “sluggish” 2008, though most actually plan to expand their operations in some form next year.
About 80 percent of the county?s business leaders surveyed for the Howard County Chamber of Commerce?s economic forecast said they expected sales of all products to increase, about 30 percent said they anticipated adding business space (65 percent expected no change), and about 55 percent said they planned to add staff in 2008. A total of 103 businesspeople were surveyed.
Local businesses, however, can?t ignore national economic trends like the housing downturn, the credit crunch and increasing energy costs, said Steve Adler, managing partner of the Savage Mill retail center.
“Like the roller coaster operator said, ?Buckle up, hold on tight, we?re in for a bumpy ride,? ” Adler said at the chamber?s economic forecast meeting Wednesday.
It?s been impossible to ignore the housing slump in 2007, and the market probably won?t recover fully until the middle of 2009 or 2010, said Suzi Padgett, vice president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage?s Columbia branch and president of the Howard County Association of Realtors.
The majority of homes sold in Howard County in 2007 have been priced $200,000 to $600,000, Padgett said. The county?s housing market has stayed somewhat strong because of its low foreclosure rate.
On the commercial side, developers are preparing for a slow 2008, said Richard Alter, president and CEO of Manekin, a Columbia-based commercial real estate firm. An exaggerated supply will soon be met with decreasing demand, forcing developers to pull back on some of their projects.
“Howard County is still very well located ? the [federal] government isn?t going anywhere,” Alter said. “Over the long haul, it?s a great place to be.”
Jeff Schappe, chief investment officer of BB&T, a North Carolina-based financial institution, agreed with Padgett that it would take several years for the housing market to recover.
Businesses should brace for a “sluggish economy” in 2008, but Schappe said he believed that the Federal Reserve wouldn?t let a recession happen and would likely cut interest rates more than once to keep the economy afloat.
“The Fed knows what?s going on, and the federal government knows what?s going on,” Schappe said. “That?s the good news.”
