How will SRS funds power up our economy?
J. David Jameson, president and CEO of the Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce, joked that when the stimulus money came, he would don a Paul Revere outfit, borrow a horse and ride through Aiken shouting, “The recession is over! The recession is over!”
While he has yet to come through on his colonial contract, Jameson does see the money having direct impact in the very near future.
“I do think that this is a turning point for this community. Every business won’t be affected in the same way, but lots of businesses will be affected,” he said.
Jameson said that although Aiken has not been hammered as brutally as some other parts of the country, the infusion will certainly be beneficial.
“I think that this will be a great cushion to our current economic condition. With a new $1.6 billion being spent here in the next 30 months, some good percentage of it will stick within our community,” he said.
He said that whether the jobs are filled with people currently in Aiken or people moving here, it will have clearly measurable impact.
“It will have impact on this community because it will create new spending,” he said.
Jameson cautioned that the optimism should not be unbridled and that there still needed to be an eye toward fiscal responsibility with business owners willing to take risks, albeit calculated ones.
“I don’t think they can anticipate that this is the start of something that will be here for ever and ever, because that would be incorrect. But it may be that the national economy catches up with where our economy is going to be,” he said.
THE REAL ESTATE MARKET
Kristyne Blake, association executive for the Aiken Board of Realtors, is encouraged by the news of the stimulus funds. Ideally, she said, many of the new jobs would go to people already in Aiken, which could lead to home upgrades. New, long-term positions filled by people moving into the area would also benefit the housing market, while short-term contract labor could benefit rental properties. Blake said the Aiken market has fared better than most since the downturn, with home prices dropping a mere 3.9 percent, compared to the 10 percent drop statewide.
“Aiken did see an increase during the housing boom, of course, but our housing prices have not plummeted,” she said.
She also hoped the news would lead more first-time buyers to start shopping, in particular in light of the new $8,000 federal tax credit available for first time buyers.
“That’s a wonderful program,” she said.
Blake added that the sense of recovery has been building of late, and this latest news only helps.
“In the last couple of months, there is a sense of optimism that it is getting better,” she said. Full Story.
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