In the midst of a recession, current foreclosure and unemployment rates show Davis to be in fairly strong economic health compared to its county and regional counterparts.
The State Employment Development department places Davis’ unemployment rate at 7.4 percent, only slightly up from 7.2 percent in 2009. This can be compared to 9.8 percent in Dixon, 13.6 percent in Winters and 15.2 percent in Sacramento.
“Overall, the city of Davis’ foreclosure rates and unemployment rates show that Davis has not been hit as hard as some other communities,” said Sarah Worley, economic development chair for the city of Davis. “Economic recovery has been slow though and we are still seeing fall-out from poor economic conditions. We will continue to monitor changes.”
The number of foreclosures occurring in Davis tells a similar story. This month, Davis had three foreclosures and 13 foreclosure auctions. This is on par with the two foreclosures in Winters, but a significant amount less than the 497 foreclosures in Sacramento, California’s top city for foreclosures.
According to numbers by Coldwell Banker Doug Arnold Real Estate, Inc., Davis home sales have indicated similar results, with 320 listings sold in Davis this year. The typical three-bedroom/two bathroom home sold for an average price of $490,503 in a mean of 54 days. The most expensive home to sell in Davis this year sold for $1.3 million.
Though Davis is better off than many of the surrounding areas, for the 2,800 people unemployed there is still a lot of room for improvement.
“The city of Davis is working with other Yolo County economic development partners and the north-eastern California small business development center to increase our business outreach and provision of business services to help retain local businesses and jobs,” Worley said.
For those already laid off, or facing a possible layoff, efforts are being pursued to provide information about employment training services. Options for information include Yolo County Workforce Investment Board’s one-stop employment centers in Woodland and West Sacramento and the State Employment Development department’s employment training programs.
Nonetheless, according to the 2009 Davis Economic Health and Prosperity Report, Davis ranks first among its comparable competitors in quality of life. This puts Davis ahead of Irvine, Palo Alto and West Sacramento in the variables of housing affordability, culture and leisure and schools.
MELISSA FREEMAN can be reached at city@theaggie.org.
