Undermined by problems in the housing sector, the Waco metropolitan area’s economic index declined for September when compared to the same month a year ago, the latest Greater Waco Economic Index report indicated Wednesday.

The index computed to 104 in September, a .9 percent decline from September a year ago, when the index was 104.7.

The number is also a decline from August’s index, which was also 104.7.

While housing sector problems dictated the September index’s direction, there were gains in some areas of the economy, including employment.

The Waco-area index is based on data compiled by Amarillo economist Karr Ingham under the sponsorship of the First National Bank of Central Texas and the Waco Tribune-Herald .

Similar to the national index, the data are compared to historic data going back to January 2000. The January 2000 index is arbitrarily marked “100” as a benchmark to compare the indices.

Clouds over housing

Single-family residential building permits were down by 20.8 percent in the third quarter from last year’s figures.

Year-to-date single-family residential building permits increased by 15.5 percent more than January to September of 2009.

Third-quarter existing home sales also were down significantly, as were existing home sales for the year-to-date.

The total dollar value of building permits issued is down by large percentages when the September numbers are compared with a year ago.

Where Waco improved

Besides the year-to-date residential permits, areas that reported gains were employment payrolls; hotel-motel receipts for the third quarter and year-to-date; and automobile spending.

Unemployment also registered a decline for the month and for the year-to-date average compared to a year ago.

Unemployment also declined from August’s 7.4 percent to 6.8 percent in September.

The 2.4 percent growth in payroll employment is significant, Ingham said.

“As of September, we have the highest year-over-year growth rate than all other metro areas in the state,” Ingham said.

Despite the recession, payroll employment is larger than it ever has been in Waco, he said.

The data were presented by Sarah Roberts, senior vice president for economic development for the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, at the bank Wednesday to a regular monthly meeting of Waco business executives.

Roberts said while housing pulled the numbers down, the employment numbers are good news.

When viewed against national and state figures, they are impressive, with Waco ranking first in the state for job creation from September 2009 through September 2010.

For the twelve months, the gain was 2.9 percent, with 3,100 jobs created.

The 12-month gain for the state was 1.6 percent, and the U.S. chalked up .4 percent, she said.

Credit loosening

Wednesday’s meeting at the bank was attended by executives from Waco’s auto dealerships. The executives said while there is no dramatic upswing in business, the automotive business in Waco is improving.

Ted Teague, general manager of Allen Samuels Dodge Chrysler Jeep, said customers are still hesitant, but sales are rising.

“It’s a heck of a lot better than what we had last year,” Teague said.

Richard Karr of Richard Karr Motors said credit is loosening for some with less than stellar credit.

On the service side, Jeff Wooley, president and general counsel of Allen Samuels Auto Group, said the dollars per repair are down, showing that people are being choosy about what they fix.

“People are just repairing what they have to,” he said.

Recovery continues

Ingham said the city, the state and the country are continuing a gradual recovery from the recession.

There likely won’t be an acceleration of the recovery, but fears of a double-dip recession are appearing more and more groundless, he said.

In housing, while permits and sales numbers were down, there is a bright spot in that housing prices are holding up, Ingham said.

“In Waco, it’s just the numbers that are down, it’s not the prices,” he said.

Ingham said the end of a first-time buyer housing tax credit that expired in April and the difficulty getting loans are big factors in the housing area.

“It’s just much more difficult to get through the mortgage underwriting process,” Ingham said.

bteeter@wacotrib.com

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