Economy slow but 'on the right road,' real-estate workers told

SALT LAKE CITY — Real-estate professionals did all they could to put a positive spin on the economy's future Wednesday, but they had to admit that, realistically, the system is unlikely to improve for a few years.

Speakers at the Utah Association of Appraisers Summer Conference, including Gov. Gary Herbert, attempted to buoy the crowd of about 200 by pointing to positives for the state, such as high rankings by trade magazines and an unemployment rate lower than the national average.

Herbert projected a 2.5 percent to 3 percent growth in the state economy within 18 months, citing high birth rates, businesses developments such as Adobe and Twitter coming to town and a highly educated work force as reasons for optimism.

"We are not where we want to be," he said. "We're on the right road, and we're going in the right direction."

The conference was held in a ballroom at Little America Hotel as a continuing education event for commercial and residential appraisers. The professionals who set the value for properties need to know what's coming in order to do their jobs correctly, said participant Alla Payne, a 35-year veteran of the industry.

"We're on the leading edge of the economy," he said. "But it's going to be a while coming out."

Tab Cornelison, first vice president of the CB Richard Ellis firm, urged the appraisers and Realtors at the conference to proclaim, "I'm tired of living in fear," and look forward with hope.

"We're underwater right now, but there really is no reason to panic," he said. "The surface is right above us. With a little creativity and hard work, we can make it."

Jim Wood, director of the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research, told the crowd that the question is not whether the economy will recover, but how quickly.

e-mail: rpalmer@desnews.com