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How the recession ‘looks’ in one Boom Town

Dante Chinni

Posted: 11.16.2009 / 9:37 AM PST

This economic downturn looks different depending on where you are.

We’ll focus on the different ways places are hurting Wednesday in our Hardship Index. Here, we’re talking about how the recession actually “looks.”

In Eagle, Colo., a “Boom Town” that saw its population double in the last decade, the streets scenes look surprisingly normal.

There are some small signs that times have gotten harder. The Starbucks in the new downtown, where all the homes had gone up, recently closed. Buildings that were empty in July remain empty. But everything is well-maintained.

Winding through the postcard-ready landscape, there is little sense that the community is suffering. The struggles happen more quietly.

Behind the scenes

Home prices are down 10 percent from last year, according to the website Zillow. They are down about 17 percent from mid-2007. That means a lot of people here have taken a hit directly in their nest eggs.

Though Eagle is a town of only about 6,000 people, hundreds of homes are for the sale in the town and its immediate environs. Few “For Sale” signs are on the street – homeowners have decided against putting them out because of the sight they would make – but real estate agents can point out addresses and price points.

At the Eagle Valley Methodist Church’s “simple supper,” which offers locals free food and a chance to meet with neighbors, Donna Meyer, who works for philanthropies in the area, says the city got hit late and hard.

“It always hits us later,” she said looking around at the crowded dining room. “It hits us later, and it stays later. There are so many homes for sale here right now. A lot of people in construction are struggling.”

Ripple effects

Ripple effects from the construction slowdown here are numerous. A lot of the homes that sold during the boom went to people in construction.

Travis Barton, a young father with two children, had a managerial position at a lumberyard nearby but quit when he saw it struggling earlier this year. Now he is a technician for Orkin. The yard is now closed, but Mr. Barton says he is doing well.

Kathy Heicher, our Patchwork Nation blogger in Eagle, notes that more than 700 property owners in Eagle County have not paid their property taxes this year – more than $6 million lost.

Eagle is a good place to keep in mind as the recession of the last few years seems to be winding down. It takes a deeper look to get a feel for what is going in the economy. Even though things look good, there may be issues that are not apparent on the surface. Those things may take longer to clean up.