Savannah Chamber

32 good for 2019. Multi-family construction also has been on the increase, but despite low vacancy rates for rental property, new construction of multi-unit housing is likely to decline in 2019. The multi-family forecast takes into consideration recent high deliveries of new units. Because Athens is a college town, millennials and renters play an outside role in the area's housing market. The Athens MSA ranks ninth highest among 409 U.S. metros in the percentage of renter occupied housing units – 45 percent are renter occupied, 46 percent are owner occupied, and 9 percent are vacant. The MSA ranks high in terms of multi-unit and single-unit attached housing, but low in single-unit detached housing. In the Athens MSA, existing single-family home prices peaked in the first quarter of 2008, but did not bottom out until nearly five years later in the fourth quarter of 2012. From peak-to-trough, existing single-family home prices dropped by 19 percent. Home prices reset to where they stood a decade earlier. Since early 2013, Athens' home prices have been on the upswing and in the third quarter of 2018 exceeded their pre-Great Recession level by 19 percent. Single-family home prices will continue to rise through 2019, but at a slower rate than in 2018. Augusta In 2019, Augusta's employment will increase by 5,400 jobs. Augusta added 8,700 and 3,400 in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The 2.2 percent pace of job growth is the highest expected for any of Georgia's MSAs (tied with Gainesville) and compares very well to 1.5 percent pace expected for the state as a whole. In addition, an increasing proportion of the jobs will be high-skill, high-pay jobs. The build out of the U.S. Army Cyber Command, the 2018 opening of the Georgia Cyber Training and Innovation Center, the area's long-term focus on clinical health care, and the area's post-secondary education industries are major positives for Augusta. The economy is not very dependent on exports – 3.8 percent of GDP – and therefore is not overly vulnerable to trade shocks. Population growth and net migration have been very strong over 2015-2018 and that trend will continue in 2019. The focus on government, education, and healthcare also makes the regional economy less cyclical than either the state or the national economies. In 2019, the regional economy will benefit from the continuation of the controversial construction of two nuclear power plants at Plant Vogtle. Augusta is a center for telecommunications services and call centers, including telemarketing and reservations. University Hospital ranks as one of America's best hospital for six procedures and conditions. The Georgia Medical Authority will use the expertise available at Augusta University to establish Augusta as a center for the rapidly growing life sciences industry. Clarks Hill Lake will be an important factor in retiree-based and second-home development, which will have beneficial spillover effects on the area's healthcare industry. Augusta Riverfront LLC will build a second downtown hotel adjacent to the August Convention Center, which will provide the additional capacity required to host larger meetings and conventions. The area's leading high wage industries include the federal government, waste treatment and disposal, and architectural and engineering firms. The Augusta MSA includes Burke, Columbia, Lincoln, McDuffie, and Richmond counties in Georgia and Aiken and Edgefield counties in South Carolina. Fort Gordon is growing very fast and it adds substantially to the Augusta's prospects for growth. Fort Gordon also adds to the area's supply of well-trained, skilled workers. Over the next few years, Fort Gordon will tap into the expansion of federal defense spending. The U.S. Army's 2013 decision to focus its cyber-related operations, development, and training in Augusta shifted the regional economy onto a new, substantially higher and more prosperous, growth trajectory, but the shift will continue to be gradual rather than abrupt. The push to economic growth arising from the move of the U.S. Army's Cyber Command will occur over many years because takes a long time to implement the mission and build out the facilities. The push to growth has begun, however. For example, the Cyber Center of Excellence is already operational. In late 2016, the Cyber Command broke ground on its new headquarters. The facility is scheduled for completion in June 2020 and the command will move from Fort Belvoir, Virginia to Fort Gordon shortly thereafter. In 2019, the area's nonresidential construction industry will benefit substantially. In addition to the direct creation of military and civilian jobs at the Cyber Command, the relocation of the Cyber Command makes Augusta a place where military contractors congregate. For example, Unisys will initially provide services to the U.S. Army at Fort Gordon. BurningCastle LLS was awarded a contract with the U.S. Army to provide IT and logistics training at Fort Gordon and will create 50 jobs in IT and cybersecurity instruction. Other defense contractors are opening offices and expanding operations. Such activities will intensify as the Cyber Command becomes operational. Meanwhile, the State

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