Grand Junction was named the 9th fastest growing metro area in the country for 2007, as the oil and gas boom continues to drive jobs, construction and profits to the western slope of the Rocky Mountains.Home prices in Grand Junction appreciated by nearly 20% last year, marking the third consecutive year of double-digit gains. The first quarter vacany rate for Grand Junction rental properties is 1.7%, which is the lowest figure I can ever recall seeing, anywhere.
The boom in Grand Junction is all about oil – or more specifically, oil shale, which can be converted into crude oil through chemical or heat-based treatment processes.
This type of extraction, which fueled a similar Grand Junction boom in the early 1980s (but "busted" when oil prices dove later in the decade) is more expensive than traditional drilling techniques. Analysts say that refining oil shale profitably requires a market threshhold of at least $50-60 per barrel, but with oil now well over $100 per barrel, Grand Junction’s revival would seem to have legs.
The upside for us here in Denver? While the oil shale extraction is going on along the western slope, the high tech (and higher paying) engineering and management jobs related to it are coming to Denver.
This is one reason our unemployment rate is holding at 4.4%, while the national average has jumped past 5% and Calilfornia has risen to 6.2%.
Grand Junction’s boom isn’t just profiting the western slope – it’s bringing scores of high paying jobs to Denver as well.
