BUSINESS SURVEY: PESSIMISM PERSISTS

Las Vegas businesses have bleaker outlook
for 2008 than for previous years

January 20, 2008 - POLL RESULTS: Asked of Review-Journal/Las Vegas Business Press readers in an online survey.

Economic Forecast

Some economists are worried about the economy, with some suggesting the country may even be heading into a recession in the coming months. Thinking about Las Vegas, what is your economic forecast for the city in 2008?

POOR - 7.4%  / FAIR - 33.3% / GOOD - 33.3% / GREAT - 18.5%

Housing market and Credit Crunch

Are the housing slump and the resulting credit crunch hurting your business?

YES - 48.1% / NO - 51.9%

The Review-Journal and Las Vegas Business Press sent its business survey to more than 2,000 local businesses in December. The questionnaire was distributed to subscribers of the paper's Push e-mail service, as well as members of local trade groups, including the North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.

Poll Lineup

TODAY: Business executives discuss their expectations for the economy in 2008.

MONDAY: We'll look at local companies' plans for hiring, pay increases and benefits.

NEXT SUNDAY: New state taxes remain a hot-button topic. Business leaders will line up on all sides of the issue.

NEXT MONDAY: Survey respondents discuss the biggest obstacles to their operations in 2008

JAN. 28 IN THE BUSINESS PRESS: The love-hate relationship between professionals and their high-tech gadgets has users praising productivity boosts and cursing round-the-clock disruptions. WHAT THEY SAID
Local businesspeople offered a range of predictions for the economy in 2008. Here are some comments from the survey:

"Excellent for commercial real estate and development, with some weaknesses in the residential sector. Residential sales should improve during 2008 due to the amount of new commercial development in Las Vegas, the huge amount of resort construction on the Strip, which is increasing each quarter, and continued new population growth."
-- John J. Moran Moran Financial Services

"The real estate sector in Las Vegas has troughed and we are seeing more buyer interest coming into the market. The overall job market is expanding and will accelerate as new casino expansions and new projects are realized. This will allow Las Vegas to lead the national economy out of any recessionary trends over the next two to three quarters. The international appeal of Las Vegas also will accelerate as the dollar maintains its weakness against other major currencies, making our city a 'must-see' destination for a broad range of international visitors."
-- Joseph Stewart The Stewart Team, Realty Executives

"Any time the U.S. is struggling economically, it will impact the tourism industry heavily. This will result in a 'fair' year. However, international visitation will likely increase from China and Europe because of the weakened U.S. dollar. Although the rest of the country will be struggling, Vegas might pull ahead."
-- Anonymous

"The Southern Nevada economy will slow to between 'good' and 'fair,' by local standards, in 2008, but will rebound to 'excellent' in 2009. Notice I said, 'By local standards,' as even our slowed growth would be welcome in regions across the country and the world."
-- Anonymous

"Tourism will probably continue its growth, but housing and construction will continue to be painful."
-- Lon O'Donnell Nevada Wireless

"The housing slowdown is having a large ripple effect on my retail business."
-- Richard Olden WashWorks

"I maintain a very positive outlook for Las Vegas in 2008. While the economy on macro level appears uncertain, this uncertainty is not mirrored on the micro level. With the onset of nearly 40,000 hotel rooms in the next few years, creating thousands of new jobs, the ripple effect will be far reaching. This bodes well for the local economy but creates new concerns -- attainable housing, infrastructure to enable those rooms to be filled, etc."
-- Gary Siroky CORE Construction

"While almost every other industry is hurting, both of Nevada's big industries are prospering more than ever. Gaming and mining are riding high."
-- Anonymous

A struggling housing market, flagging consumer spending and waning job growth have curbed optimism among once-ebullient business owners and managers.

In a December survey that the Review-Journal and the Las Vegas Business Press sent to local trade groups and businesses, 51.8 percent of participants said they expect an excellent or a good year ahead.

That number is down considerably from results in the two previous years, when roughly 94 percent of people who answered the Review-Journal's questionnaires predicted good or excellent times.

Gauging attitudes offers a glimpse into the business decisions executives will make. A negative outlook can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, as business owners who expect a down year often hire fewer workers and scale back on marketing to wait out a soft economy. Broad pessimism could yield slower overall expansion.

Brian Gordon, a principal for economic consulting firm Applied Analysis, said this year's dimmer views don't surprise him.

For one thing, he said, a sickly real estate market has undermined consumer confidence and chipped away at household wealth, so locals aren't lavishing discretionary dollars on casinos and retailers the way they used to. Throw in regular news reports about skyrocketing foreclosures or tumbling home prices, and perception combines with reality to squelch expectations.

Survey respondent William "Biff" Leonard has a front-row seat to the consumer meltdown that's shaking up stock markets and pinching retail sales.

Leonard is a federal bankruptcy trustee for the Nevada district, and he said the indicators he sees on the job point to a poor year ahead for the local economy.

The volume of bankruptcies Leonard handles has returned to the pre-reform levels of 2004, as real estate professionals ranging from sales agents to home inspectors look to erase debt. Workers in trades such as plumbing and carpentry are visiting Leonard in growing numbers, as are inexperienced investors who bought multiple properties with exotic mortgages. Credit-card debt among filers has jumped from a typical $10,000 two years ago to as much as $50,000 or $100,000 now.

Worse still, the mean age among filers in Leonard's case load dropped from around 50 a few years ago to 44 today. Clients as young as 21 tell Leonard their financial troubles began with outsized home loans and too much charge-card debt. The trend suggests that even the youngest consumers enjoyed easy access to big credit lines they couldn't afford, Leonard said, and it reveals a widespread carelessness among banks that will continue to snake through the economy in 2008.