Are you working or not ?

[Ryland Fox]

yes

[Peter M. Boyle]

No.

[Erin Carpenter]

Yes

[Ryan Bentley]

Yes

[Dominic Esser]

NO!!!

[Lubima]

yes!

[Chad Watkins]

YES

[Jessi Seglar]

No

[Mark Sanford]

yes

[Boilerplater]

No, nearly 6 months. I live in one of the worst-hit metros in the country.

[Chris Whitted]

Nope.

[landplanner]

I’m going to expand this simplistic survey and have respondents add some anecdotal observations about the economic and employment conditions related to our profession in their region of the country. Please add yours.

[Andrew Garulay, RLA]

Much lower real estate values than a few years ago. Very few real estate transactions. Many commercial jobs that have been permitted are not getting built. Many unbuilt subdivisions being offered for sale to the towns for open space (we have a “land bank” system that funds these purchases from realestate transactions), many empty store fronts, and very little indication of stimulus work. Real estate transactions are taking place, but only for bargain hunters who don’t seem to be contacting anyone to design improvements.

Most civil engineering offices in the area are all but dead. We’ve been OK, but I’m concerned that it is thinning out for us (civil office) as well. Our work has not been on many projects that are producing a lot of additional design or a lot of construction.

Oddly, builders and others seem optimistic and talk about hearing that it is picking up, but it seems always to be second hand. I’ve got to believe that the civil offices are the early predictors and if that is true, it does not look good.

[nca]

In this part of northern Colorado, which granted is evidently a different market than even Denver just 40 miles or so further south I have been sensing some optimism. We work closely with builders and subdivision developers specifically and there are new projects springing up in that realm.

I dont know if the work we have is an anomoly or not. Several design-builds and municipalities have advertised openings near denver.

[Boilerplater]

As I mentioned, I’m in one of the worst hit metros in the country (Las Vegas). There are unfinished construction projects all over the valley. Some are rather bizarre scenes, as they look like all the workers just left one day and didn’t come back. The equipment and materials are still on-site, presumably because there is no place else to take them. For one big casino/resort, they announced that it wouldn’t be restarted for 5 years. The starting of a small park project was announced recently, so that’s a bright spot. I was recently contacted about doing some design and CD work for a water park with related retail and housing in Laughlin, NV. That’s right on the Colorado river at the south end of the state. I was amazed that someone could even get the water allottment for such a project. Hopefully it will be going forward and I get some real work out of it.

[Author]

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