Issue link: http://savannah.uberflip.com/i/1531156
31 Military The Department of Defense, with Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, is the largest employer in Coastal Georgia. In 2024, there were approximately 29,200 military personnel and federal government workers in the Savannah combined statistical area. The regional economic footprint is substantial: total compensation for associated personnel and civilian workers is approximately $2.4 billion and the facilities combine for an annual economic impact of $5.8 billion. Fort Stewart along with Hunter Army Airfield serves as the Army's premier power projection platform on the East Coast. Over the past two years, the 3 rd Infantry Division has been undergoing a modernization program to become the most powerful division in the U.S. Army. The 3rd Infantry Division was deployed to northeastern Europe for nine months to engage in multi-national training with nine other brigades from twelve NATO countries. They worked alongside NATO allies and regional security partners to provide combat ready forces to V-Corps, America's forward-deployed corps in Europe, before returning in May 2024. The Division's 1 st Armored Brigade Combat Team's 3,500 troops completed a 14-day rotation at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California to prepare for deployment to Europe early in 2025. The unit was also the first unit deployed to Europe in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Soldiers with 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, conducted a rapid deployment readiness training exercise in July 2024. The purpose of the exercise is to create readiness to deploy anywhere in the world within 96 hours. The Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport hosts the Savannah Air National Guard Base. The 165 th Airlift Wing, 117 th Air Control Squadron, and 156 th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, based out of Charlotte, NC, operate from the airbase. Real Estate: Residential and Commercial Residential The pressure on the residential real estate market eased modestly in 2024 as mortgage interest rates backed off their short-run cyclical high by about a full point as of late December 2024. However, the median price of a home, townhouse, and condo in Chatham County increased 6.3% to $340,100 in 2024. A total of 5,073 residential units (all types) sold, a decline of 8% as compared to 2023 and the third consecutive year of sales volume decline in the county. The market share of units sold at greater than $300,000 increased to 63% from 57% in 2023. Conversely, the share of homes selling at or below $200,000 declined to 15% continuing a downward trend since 2018 at which time 51% of homes sold were in this range. The number of homes selling for over $1 million increased 50% to 329 units as compared to 2023. Limited supply of inventory pushed prices up significantly in 2023 and 2024 and is expected to be a factor again in 2025. Median sale price is expected to increase 4% to 6% in 2025 as income-attainable housing remain a challenge for many households in the region. In the Savannah MSA, on the supply side of the housing market, the number of building permits issued in 2024 for single family homes was approximately 2,700 units (+4.6%), as compared to the five-year average of approximately 2,360 units. The average value of a permit issued decreased 1.7% to $253,200 in 2024. Residential construction is expected to moderately increase in 2025 as borrowers re-set their expectations to the normalized cost of borrowed funds. The number of permits issued is expected to increase by about 5% again in 2025. Developers and homebuilders are responding to the increased demand for multifamily unit housing projects as evidenced by the near doubling of multifamily unit market share to 36% of total building permits issued in the past 6 years as compared to about 19% from 2010 to 2017. Numerous multifamily and single family housing developments have been under construction or approved in the Savannah metro area. These include projects in Savannah, Georgetown, Pooler, Port Wentworth, Bryan County, and Effingham County among others. Office and Commercial Vacancy rates in metro Savannah's office and commercial market increased modestly to 4.9% at the end of 2024 from 4.3% at the end of 2023. The amount of vacant space increased about 10% to 181,200 square feet from 165,000 square feet of the nearly 3.8 million square feet of inventory in the Savannah MSA. About 110,000 square feet of office space was withdrawn from the central