T H E M O N T H LY B U S I N E S S S E C T I O N F O R L I N N A N D B E N T O N C O U N T I E S A N D T H E M I D -W I L L A M E T T E VA L L E Y

w w w.democratherald.com/business • w w w.gazettetimes.com/business December 2011

20122012Agriculture

The good news: Mid-valley farmers continue todiversify their planting selections away from whathad been primarilygrass seed only.Wheat, clover seedand even hazelnutsare being added tothe mixture. Thebacklog of grassseed that has sat inwarehouses due toanemic new homesales and cutbacksin over seeding bythe golf industry, isslowly decreasing.

The bad news:The number of acres of wheat grown in the mid-valley continues to increase and prices have re-mained relatively strong. But a long, cold, wetspring decreased wheat yields in some case by asmuch as 50 percent over the 2010 crop.

The uncertainties: Prices for some varieties ofgrass seed have begun to come back, but how farthey will go is the question. Also, weather has af-fected wheat yields in other parts of the world,causing U.S. prices to fluctuate. Relatively highcrude oil prices have resulted in diesel fuel pricesapproaching $4 per gallon and fertilizer prices of$600 to more than $800 per ton.

– Alex Paul

Construction and real estateThe good news: As the economy continues to recover from the

burst of the housing bubble, the brightest spot on the horizon inthe world of mid-valley construction and real estate is multifamilyhousing. Expect to see continued demand for rental housing.

The neutral news:Other than that, 2011was a fairly flat year forconstruction and real es-tate. Albany Realtor DavePautsch said that sincearea house prices begandeclining in August2007, things have stabi-lized in the mid-valley.Few if any builders areputting in new subdivi-sions or building spec homes, but the inventory of unsold housesis starting to decline.

Realtors consider that when the average listing sits on the mar-ket for more than six months, it’s a buyer’s market; when proper-ties are snapped up in less than six months, it’s a seller’s market.Currently, the average is 5.27 months for Corvallis, 6.61 for Albany,and 6.46 for Lebanon.“I’d say it’s a fairly neutral market,” Pautschsaid.

Commercial Realtor Gary Pond said that it’s been a flat yearfor commercial real estate. Some stores, such as JoAnn’s Fab-rics in Corvallis, moved to larger, newer spaces, but suchmovements leave behind holes to fill at the old storefronts.“It’s really been like musical chairs,” he said. “There’s no majornet gain.”

The uncertainties: The free fall has stopped, but don’t expectto see a housing boom anytime soon.

– Jennifer Rouse

FinanceThe good news: Banks, credit unions and other financial institutions that

have weathered the worst of the recession have likely done so thanks to pru-dent and careful decisions, and now those in-stitutions are poised to take advantage of theeconomic upturn, when it finally comes. Finan-cial institutions have cash to loan, and aremaking loans to business people with soundbusiness plans and consumers who are goodprospects for timely repayment.

The bad news: It’s likely that the shakeoutin the sector still isn’t quite finished: Somebanks may close in 2012 and a Eugene creditunion recently closed its doors. And, ironically,an improving economy could fuel liquidity is-sues in institutions in the next couple of yearsas investors take their money out of the safehavens of banks and credit unions in search ofhigher returns.

The uncertainties: It’s still unclear what impact financial reforms like theDodd-Frank legislation recently passed by Congress will have on banks andcredit unions. And, although consumer confidence appears to be on the re-bound, it still could be shaken by any number of events, both in the UnitedStates and abroad.

– Mike McInally

Government and educationThe good news: Enrollment increases at Oregon State University are help-

ing to bankroll an increase in the ranks of faculty and staff members. OSUprojections call for the growth in enrollment to slow, but to continue at a 2 to3 percent pace for the next few years.

The bad news: Although it tends to be obscured by OSU’s hiring boom,other branches of local government likely will be looking at shedding jobsover the next year or so. The Corvallis School District, for example, is lookingat a budget shortfall of more than$4 million for its next fiscal year,and would appear to have little op-tion but to lay off workers. Thesame is true at other mid-valleyschool districts, and city and coun-ty governments as well.

The uncertainties: Governmentshave been shielded from the worstof the budget cuts by a number ofvoter-approved levies. But thosecome up for approval every fewyears, and government officials worry that voters will start to reject thoselevies – which would trigger deeper personnel cuts. And any year with a leg-islative session – and now, that’s every year in Oregon – brings some uncer-tainty.

– Mike McInally

Health careThe good news: In July, expect a major health-

care transformation as a legislatively imposeddeadline arrives that has given health care organi-zations a12-monthperiod toform co-ordinat-ed careorgani-zations,local or-ganiza-tions with networks of providers that offer preven-tive care. The organizations will aim to focus onprevention and early detection. Overall, hiringshould continue in the sector as demand rises.

The bad news: Health care costs are rising asreimbursement for services is reduced. In July,changes in the state budget take effect that willreduce by 20 percent reimbursements made tohospitals for care of patients with state-fundedmedical coverage.

The uncertainties: There is no way to predicthow these changes will impact the economy. Lessmoney coming in to hospitals will have an impactbut at the same time new jobs in health care likelywill be created. 2012 is shaping up as anothertransition year, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s rul-ing on President Obama’s Affordable Care Actadds another layer of uncertainty.

– Maria L. Kirkpatrick

ManufacturingThe good news: Chris Scherer, director of the Oregon Manufac-

turing Extension Partnership, predicts growth across industries.“Most of the companies that have made it have at least a reason-able recovery gain plan,” he said, adding that most of his clientswere relatively optimistic.

In the area of technology manu-facturing, Bruce Laird of the OregonBusiness Development Departmentdescribed himself as quite opti-mistic.“The numbers are very opti-mistic and certainly business ispicking up.“

In Linn County, metals manu-facturing may receive a boost dueto increased demand for aircraft,said Will Summers of the OregonEmployment Department. Howev-er, he does not expect hugegrowth.

The bad news: Benton County won’t be seeing much, if any,growth in wood-product manufacturing, said Summers.

Overall,“business is still nowhere near where it was, but it does-n’t seem to be sinking any further except in isolated cases,” Scher-er said.

The uncertainties: No one can predict exactly what 2012 willbring, and different industries will see different results. Schereradded the stipulation that companies actively working to improvetheir productivity are more likely to find success in the coming year.

– Jen Matteis

RetailThe good news: Mid-valley retailers report the last few years have showed

improvement. While optimism is guarded, steady holiday sales bode well forthe economy. Hiring is up and spending localhas increased. The trend to stay local and shoplocal has resulted in more event participationand an increase in business. Mid-valley busi-ness associations report there is a trend tobuy quality goods and retailers catering tohigher quality goods are seeing positive sales.

The bad news: In an election year, there aremany uncertainties and unpredictable events.Dubious information flying around can causeunease while new regulations and tax burdenswill raise questions.

The uncertainties: It is impossible to pre-dict human nature. If people aren’t feeling se-cure, they won’t part with their money. While many hope for a better econo-my and some say things are improving, shoppers still hold tightly to theirwallets waiting for a sign that things will change for the better.

– Maria L. Kirkpatrick

Dining and tourismThe good news: Mid-valley tourism was strong in 2011, and

while the dining business isn’t back to prerecession levels, localrestaurateurs are optimistic.

Surging attendance at local festivals and continued bookingsfor conventions and conferences contributed to a good year fortourism. Corvallis and Albany bothreported increases in the amountof money they received from roomtaxes in 2011. Dave Gilbert at VisitCorvallis said that Oregon StateUniversity sporting events and con-ferences played a big role in thosenumbers, as well as the area’semerging role as a bicycling center.

Corvallis restaurant owner IainDuncan said times have beentough on restaurant owners, asfood prices rose dramatically andthe failing economy made dinersless likely to eat out. Partly in response to such pressures, Dun-can and his wife, Tonya, closed one restaurant, Terzo, and con-verted their French restaurant, Le Bistro, into the lower-pricedBrew BBQ. But things are looking up, Duncan said.

Albany restaurant owner Matt Bennett had to make changesto keep his restaurants vital as well – he and his wife, Janel, soldBoccherini’s coffee shop and added a retail wine component totheir Italian-American restaurant, Clemenza’s. Now, Bennettsaid, his restaurants are doing better than they have for the pastfew years.

The uncertainties: If fuel prices go up, that could dampensome of the optimism here. But the overall trend appears to beslightly upward.

– Jennifer Rouse

Timber/wood productsThe good news: Housing starts are up com-

pared to the last couple of years at 680,000 units,but still well below the normal standard of 1.3 mil-lion units per year, according to Jim Geisinger ofAssoci-ated Ore-gon Log-gers.“It’sbetterthanwhatwe’veseen inrecentyears,but it’sstill a far cry from the really good years whenthere were 2 million starts,” Geisinger said.“And,there’s an uptick in home repair and remodeling,so that market has improved a bit.”

Other good news is that investor groups arebuying foreclosed homes, remodeling them andputting them up for sale. “It’s not new housing,but at least this should help take some of thebacklog out of the market,” Geisinger said.

The bad news: The market has been shored upby the shipment of raw logs overseas, because do-mestic demand is so poor. But that means newjobs in wood processing aren’t being created.

The uncertainties: How long overseas demandwill continue and whether the European debt is-sues will balance out.

– Alex Paul

We asked experts about the prospects for ninedifferent economic sectors in the new year. Theconsensus: A surprising amount of cautiousoptimism that although the economy may not haveturned the corner yet, the corner might be cominginto view. Here’s the outlook, segment by segment:

forOptimism

201290246 X 2.00

HOUSE ACCT PAID |

JESSE SKOUBO | CORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES

Earthfort co-owner Scott Smith at his business in Corvallis. Earthfort works to educatecustomers, evaluate situations and remediate soil.

ill Humphreys Sr. is thepresident and CEO of Citizens Bank. In recent

years, Humphreys has present-ed talks throughout the area onthe economic outlook for themid-valley and the nation, so itmade sense for Mid-Valley InBusiness to check in with him for his thoughts about2012. Here’s an edited versionof the discussion:

InBusiness: Last time wetalked about the state of theeconomy, a year ago, we werestill in the grips of real econom-ic uncertainty. That uncertaintyis still out there, but are youstarting to see some thingscome into focus?

Humphreys: One of thethings that has come into focusis the fact that we’re going tobe in this for a while longer. Ithink we’ve got at least twoyears. One strong indicator ofthat is the Federal Reserve an-nouncing that it’s going to keepinterest rates low … and lowmeans zero to .25 (percent),probably, on the fed funds rate,for the next two years. That’s anunprecedented move, and sothat probably means that we’regoing to be in this for 18 to 24months in terms of the econo-my. … There are some signs of,certainly not economic growthoverall, but certain sectors ofthe economy have grown.

InBusiness: What segmentsof the economy do you seegrowing?

Humphreys: I think agricul-ture has been quite strong. Ex-porting has been good becausethe dollar has been so lowagainst foreign currencies. …Boeing and the aircraft-manu-facturing sector are doing well,and it’s because the airlinesare running to the end of theirexpected life period on most oftheir assets. … As you lookaround, you can pick spots inthe economy that are doingquite well. Profits are good. …But the rest of the economy isnot recovering to the extentthat we’d like to see it at thispoint in a recession. We’rethree years in. Although the re-cession officially ended twoyears ago in October, it surefeels like a recession becausethere’s just been very littlegrowth — even though I guessthere’s officially been somegrowth. (I)n the housing mar-ket, recession continues … andbecause housing is the biggestpart of any consumer’s life,when that’s in recession, con-sumers are in recession. Andjobs … if you’ve got a job, that’show you can pay for your hous-ing. If unemployment is at 10percent, that means 10 percentof the people can’t do that. Ithink the 10 percent is just anoverwhelming negative thathas to improve before we climbout of this recession.

InBusiness: Why do youthink jobs haven’t bouncedback? Is it that businessesare being cautious aboutadding jobs?

Humphreys: I think there area lot of reasons for that. I thinkthere’s caution and uncertain-ty among businesses … I thinka lot of businesses havelearned that they can do asmuch or even more with thestaff that they have, gettingmore efficient.

InBusiness: What’s your gen-eral advice to businesspeopletrying to figure out strategiesfor success and survival in2012?

Humphreys: They need tocreate some sort of a strategicbusiness plan. They need toknow where they’re going. Theyneed to have a plan. They needto formalize it and they need toput the budget and all the man-agement conditions behind theplan. We’ve been offering to justhelp people with their businessplans, free of charge. Just comein, you don’t have to bank withus, just let us help us with yourplan. It’s very important thatthey do that.

InBusiness: A good plan isimportant in good economictimes. It’s critical in periods likethis.

Humphreys: I agree. I’vebeen asking people to take ad-vantage of these low rates torestructure their balance sheet.If they have any debt, try to getthe debt fixed and termed outin terms of interest rate. There’slikely to be interest rate infla-tion when the Fed takes its footoff the governor of the interestrates. When that happens …there will be a round of in-creased interest rates and theyneed to prepare for that. Sonow’s the time to use the lowrates in this short-term envi-ronment to take care of all yourfinancing needs. And thenwe’re telling them to shorten upon all their debt. There’s no rea-son right now to not pay offyour debt with your cash ifyou’ve got excess cash. …

InBusiness: What else canbusinesses do?

Humphreys: (B)usinesseshave lots of room to get moreefficient. They can do morewith fewer resources. Theyneed to anticipate higher oper-ating costs. They need to reallytake a look at their costs. ... Un-derstand your product costs.

Really understand what it coststo produce your product. Take alook at who you’re doing busi-ness with, who you’re selling to.If you’re not making a profit onthat line of business or withthat customer, then changeyour pricing or exit that cus-tomer relationship. Now’s thetime to do that, and you canuse the economy as an excuse.(Remember) the theory thatyou can’t make a small loss onevery deal and make it up in vol-ume. … (U)nderstand whereyour best business comesfrom, understand who yourbest customers are, and thenclean out the negatives, thelosses, the loss leaders, the los-ing products and really empha-size the positives, with all thepositive relationships andspend a lot of time maximizingthose things. …

InBusiness: It’s easy toforget how cyclical the econ-omy is.

Humphreys: There has never,ever been a recession that didn’tend.There’s always an end tothe downturn portion of a cycleand we have to remember thatand prepare for it. But we alsohave to remember, and we oftenforget, is that there’s an end tothe upturn portion of the cycle,too, and we think that’s going tolast forever, and it doesn’t.Thatcaused us some real headachesin this last go-round.

InBusiness: The thing I likeabout this advice is that, it’s re-ally things that businesspeoplecan do. It helps them focus onthe things that they can con-trol. You can’t fret about thethings that are outside yourcontrol.

Humphreys: Focus on whatyou can control. Be an observeron the other things, but don’tworry about them. And thenprepare. I think preparation isthe key to business success.Failing to prepare is preparingto fail.

December 2011MID-VALLEY InBusinessA6

WITH

Bill Humphreys Sr.

Q & ABUSINESS PROFILE

B

201278673 X 5.00

CITIZENSBANK/LOCAL

ANDY CRIPE | CORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES

Bill Humphreys Sr., president and CEO of Citizens Bank. Humphreysthinks we’ll be in a weak economy for a while longer.

By MARIA L. KIRKPATRICK

irt is dead.Soil, on the

other hand, isthe foundationof life. A well-

balanced soil gives forthmore bounty.

And so the Corvalliscompany Earthfort worksto provide education, toolsand supplies to cultivategood soil.

Earthfort works withSoil Foodweb Inc. to putsoil under a microscopeand educate growers onwhat lives within theirlandscape.

“Most people assumechemistry is all you needto know about the soil,”said Elaine Ingham, direc-tor of Soil Foodweb inCorvallis. “But the biologywill predict what thechemistry will be.”

Soil Foodweb Inc. isowned by Ingham to pro-mote her research on soilbiology. The companyhouses the flagship lab inCorvallis owned by EarthFortification Supplies Co.– Earthfort, for short. In-gham is directly involvedwith the lab.

“Earthfort makes ap-plying Soil Foodweb con-cepts practical and tangi-ble,” said Scott Smith,Earthfort’s chief executiveofficer. “We partner withSustainable Studies Insti-tute (Ingham’s nonprofiteducational organization,which aims to further theresearch done by SoilFoodweb research) toteach the biological ap-proach,” he said.

Smith and MattSlaughter, vice presidentat Earthfort, educate oth-ers, evaluate situationsand remediate soil for aliving.

Farmers and agricul-turists mail in soil samplesto the office and consultwith Earthfort staff.Working with microscopesand other equipment,Earthfort scientists exam-ine the samples, breakdown ingredients and

“read” the living matter inthe samples.

“Everything exists for areason,” Smith said.“Predators are there totake out the weak. Thesame happens in plants.Dominating plants deter-mine the soil.”

“If you really want topredict how well yourplant is going to grow, youneed to know the biology,”Ingham said. “Biology ismore than a snapshot ofthe time of the sample.”

Breaking down the bi-ology and feeding the goodso that it will outgrow thebad is what Earthfort aimsto do. The company offerseducation, consulting, labservices, products andequipment to restore soilbiology.

Work ranges fromhelping landscapers tosmall organic farmers tolarge-scale commercialfarms, municipalities,nurseries and greenhouseoperations.

Earthfort applicationsare being used near and far.

For example, Earthfortsells a bucket brewer kit tomake a compost tea thatcan be applied to gardens.Farmers in California haveused Earthfort’s composttea to grow record-break-ing vegetables and morefruitful trees.

Slaughter, vice presi-dent of Soil Foodweb Inc.,lab director and consult-ant, recently was in Suri-name to work with theCaribbean Institute tohelp support the country’sgoal of building sustain-able and organic agricul-ture.

He said the farmerswere struggling with thesoil and having to farmfurther from the villageyear after year. In teachingthem to care for the soil,they not only keep workand food nearby, they aregrowing enough food fortheir families and are ableto sell their produce atmarket.

Even the WoodlandPark Zoo has benefitedfrom Earthfort knowledge.Utilizing biology from acompost tea, E. coli inurine of the Komodo drag-on has been neutralized,enabling habitat keepers tosafely clean their habitat.

“Tea is biology,”Slaughter said. “(This ap-plication) introduced anatural biology that out-competed the E. coli.”

“Composting is hand-crafted hummus,” Smith.“We take what happens inthe forest and accelerate it.”

Taking root in soil

SCOBEL WIGGINS | CORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES

Cutaway example of a home compost tea brewer from Earthfort.

SCOBEL WIGGINS | CORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES

Matt Slaughter is vice-presidentand lab director of Earthfort.

D

PHOTOSOF THE

YEARSee Lifestyles on Jan. 1

News & NotesSAMARITAN JOINS ART EF-

FORT: Samaritan Health Ser-vices has been selected to helpcreate an Oregon Network forArts in Rural Health Care, whichwill be a chapter of the new Pa-cific Northwest Arts in Health Al-liance.

A planning session took placeDec. 2 at Good Samaritan Re-gional Medical Center. Ruralhealth care and arts leaders fromacross Oregon were invited to at-tend at no cost.

Since 2004, Samaritan hasplayed a leadership role in foster-ing a local movement to connectpatients, visitors and employeeswith artistic experiences, tomake the health care experiencemore enjoyable and to promotehealing. Samaritan has part-nered with The Arts Center inCorvallis and the Oregon CoastCouncil for the Arts to createArtsCare, a program that bringsartists directly into the healthcare setting.

The Society for Arts in Health-care has since 2009 providedfunding to implement a planningprocess with a goal of increasingaccess to arts in health care pro-grams in Oregon’s rural commu-nities. The society also providedprofessional trainers to lead theDec. 2 session.

The trainers led participantsthrough a process to identifypopulations that have limited ac-cess to arts in health care servic-es; determine how to reach un-derserved populations; initiate aplan to increase the number ofrural health facilities with arts inhealth care programs; and pro-vide those attending with accessto practical materials.

For more information about lo-cal efforts, contact Samaritan’sJeanette Partl at 541-768-6868.

AGAE SHIPS FIRST PROD-UCT: AGAE Technologies LLC, anew Corvallis biotechnologycompany based on research atOregon State University, hasshipped its first product: a spe-cialty chemical for use in envi-ronmental remediation, pharma-

ceuticals, cosmetics and otherindustries.

The company opened its doorslast May, and today employs fivepeople. AGAE Technologies li-censed the patented technologyfrom OSU, and has conducted itsown research on cost-effective,high-yield processes for manu-facturing a compound known asa rhamnolipid biosurfactant.

Biosurfactants are a novelgroup of microbial compoundsmade by living cells, and can beused in personal and householdproducts, paints and manufac-turing processes. AGAE Tech-nologies’ compounds are non-toxic, environmentally benignand biodegradable.

AGAE is one of the latest com-panies to commercialize OSU re-search. This year the universityincreased licensing revenues by63 percent with 101 “active”technology licenses from massspectrometry to mold and yeastinhibitors.

The company CEO is HarrisonParks, who has more than 25years of international technologysales and marketing experience.Xihou Yin is president andfounder of AGAE Technologies,and senior research facultymember in the OSU College ofPharmacy. AGAE also has hiredMartha Cone to oversee techni-cal operations and to managecustomer technical engagement.

CITIZENS DECLARES DIVI-DEND: On Dec. 20, the Board ofDirectors of Citizens Bancorpdeclared a cash dividend to bepaid to all shareholders of recordon Jan. 5.

The company declared a cashdividend equal to 35 cents pershare of common stock, and 37cents per share to holders of pre-ferred stock. This dividend will bepaid on or before Jan. 13.

Citizens Bank, a wholly ownedsubsidiary of Citizens Bancorp, isa full-service community bankwith offices in Corvallis, Philo-math, Albany, Lebanon, JunctionCity, Springfield, Harrisburg,McMinnville, Dallas, Silverton,Oregon City and Salem.

Jan. 3: Orientation sessionfor the MicroBusiness Exploreand Commit class, 6 to 8 p.m.,Room CC-213, Calapooia Center,Linn-Benton Community College,6500 Pacific Blvd. S.W., Albany.The orientation session will de-scribe the eight-week course,which is designed to help partici-pants determine whether theyhave a viable business idea. Theclass will meet from 6 to 8 p.m.Tuesdays from Jan. 10 throughMarch 20 at Corvallis HighSchool. Cost of the course is$349; partial scholarships areavailable. Information: LBCCSmall Business DevelopmentCenter, 541-917-4974.

Jan. 4: Orientation sessionfor the MicroBusiness Exploreand Commit class, 6 to 8 p.m.,Linn-Benton Community CollegeBenton Center, 757 N.W. PolkAve., Corvallis. See descriptionabove.

Jan. 10 and 11: Principles ofNatural Resource Management,8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Portland. Be-ing a natural resource managerrequires a scientific grounding inecology and ecosystem function,and a grasp of resource policyand policy-making. The goal ofthis course is to provide an intro-duction to the science and poli-tics of natural resource manage-ment as it is practiced today. Par-ticipants should have someknowledge of ecology and envi-ronmental science. A general un-

derstanding of natural resourcemanagement is helpful but notrequired. Sponsored by theNorthwest Environmental Train-ing Center. Cost: $595. Registra-tion: www.nwetc.org.

Jan. 10: Lebanon Area Cham-ber of Commerce Women InBusiness Luncheon: “LeadingUs Into A New Year.” Speaker: RobHess, Lebanon CommunitySchool District superintendent.Time: Noon, Bing’s Kitchen, 2416S. Santiam Highway, Lebanon.Cost: $12. Info: 541-258-7164.

Jan. 17: Expanding Your Lead-ership Edge: “Leadership fromthe Inside Out.” Facilitated byJoseph Bailey, Linn-Benton Com-munity College. Time: 8:08 a.m.,chamber office, 435 First Ave. W.,Albany. Cost: $10. Info: 541-926-1517.

Jan. 19: Lebanon Area Cham-ber of Commerce Business Af-ter Hours. Time: 5 to 7 p.m., KeyBank, 95 E. Sherman, Lebanon.Cost: $8. Info: 541-258-7164.

Jan. 24-25: Bureau of Laborand Industry Training: “Employ-ee Supervision: A Two-Day Ba-sic Training.” Presenter: JenniferGermundson, BOLI. Time: 9 a.m.to 4 p.m., Central WillametteCommunity Credit Union Head-quarters, 7101 Supra Drive S.W.,Albany. Cost: $130 chambermembers; $150 nonmembers.Info: 541-812-8668 orgreg.e.ivers@state.or.us.

MID-VALLEY InBusinessDecember 2011 A7

Unemployment Rate

U.S. Oregon Linn Co.Benton Co.

16%

14%

12%

10%

8%

6%

4%

2%

0

Source: Oregon Employment Department Note: Data are seasonally adjusted.

Nov. 2010 Nov. 2011Oct. 2011

10.6

7.2

13.0

9.0 9.5

6.4

12.0

8.6 9.1

6.1

11.5

9.8

Mid-Valley Residential ReportUnits sold Units sold Average Averagepast year past year sales prices ales price

Nov. 2011 Nov. 2010 Nov. 2011 Nov. 2010

Albany 447 469 152,983 161,417N. Albany 119 134 221,748 252,591Brownsville 23 21 150,813 197,992Corvallis 501 471 270,541 279,659

Units sold Units sold Average Averagepast year past year sales prices ales price

Nov. 2011 Nov. 2010 Nov. 2011 Nov. 2010

Independence 53 64 165,226 209,490

Jefferson 52 45 202,409 211,929

Lebanon 297 313 137,623 150,326

Philomath 74 81 241,437 240,900

Sweet Home 123 138 115,892 121,720

Source: Willamette Valley Multiple Listing Service

Source: Oregon Employment Department Nov. ’11 Oct. ’11 Nov. ’10 Oct. ’11 Nov. ’10

Nov. ’11 Oct. ’11 Nov. ’10 Oct. ’11 Nov. ’10

Change fromCorvallis MSA (Benton County) Nonfarm Payroll Employment

Source: Oregon Employment Department Change from

Linn County Nonfarm Payroll Employment

Residential Average Sales Price by Area

Th

ou

san

ds

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

306,557

194,920146,054

257,847

325

300

275

250

225

200

175

150

125

Source: Willamette Valley Multiple Listing Service

The numbers: The Uni-versity of Oregon Index ofEconomic Indicators rose0.3 percent in October to89.3, (1997=100), the sec-ond consecutive monthlyincrease.

What was up: Most ofthe components that makeup the index improved inOctober, including initialunemployment claims,residential building per-mits and the Oregonweight-distance tax, ameasure of trucking activi-ty. The interest rate spreadimproved as market partic-ipants upgraded their as-sessement of U.S. eco-nomic activity, said the re-port’s author, Timothy Duy

of the University of Ore-gon.

What was down: Coremanufacturing fell, as didU.S. consumer sentiment.

What stayed steady:

Employment service pay-rolls (mostly temporaryhelp employees) stayedabout the same, a sign ofweak labor demand.

The upshot: Duy con-

cluded that “the economyhas been following a start-stop pattern of activitysince the recession end-ed, with bursts of growthfollowed by temporaryslowdowns that raise con-cerns of recession. Wemay have experienced an-other such episode thispast summer. Still, the on-going European financialcrisis, coupled with ex-pected fiscal contractionin the U.S. next year, sug-gests continued cautionwith regard to the outlookfor 2012.”

To learn more: Check out the full report at thewebsite http://pages.uoregon.edu/oefweb/

Natural resources, mining and construction 1,230 1,250 1,160 -20 70

Manufacturing 3,300 3,310 3,320 -10 -20

Trade, transportation and utilities 4,410 4,280 4,410 130 0

Information 800 780 810 20 -10

Financial activities 1,380 1,370 1,360 10 20

Professional and business services 3,690 3,690 3,630 0 60

Educational and health services 5,780 5,680 5,650 100 130

Leisure and hospitality 3,240 3,270 3,500 -30 -260

Other services 1,160 1,150 1,170 10 -10

Federal government 560 570 580 -10 -20

State government 10,470 10,230 9,780 240 690

Local government 2,960 2,890 2,930 70 30

Total nonfarm payroll employment 38,980 38,470 38,300 510 680

Natural resources, mining and construction 2,400 2,520 2,220 -120 180

Manufacturing 6,860 6,960 6,500 -100 360

Trade, transportation and utilities 8,450 8,390 8,720 60 -270

Information 390 390 390 0 0

Financial activities 1,250 1,230 1,300 20 -50

Professional and business services 2,930 2,940 3,160 -10 -230

Educational and health services 4,730 4,730 4,820 0 -90

Leisure and hospitality 2,890 2,890 2,940 0 -50

Other services 1,340 1,330 1,350 10 -10

Federal government 320 330 340 -10 -20

State government 1,160 1,160 1,190 0 -30

Local government 5,970 6,060 6,550 -90 -580

Total nonfarm payroll employment 38,690 38,930 39,480 -240 -790

Benton County

Linn County

BUSINESS DATA

Index, 1997 = 100

92

91

90

89

88

87

86

U O I N D E X O F EC O N O M I C I N D I CATO R S

May-11 June-11 July-11 Aug-11 Sept.-11 Oct.-11

MOVERS&SHAKERS

DAT E B O O K

201232366 X 5.00

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