Marble Falls Economic Update

Authors:
cfletcher

Reports released this week illustrate that the economy in Marble Falls continues to be strong.

The April 2016 sales tax report from the Comptroller released on Wednesday—reflective of February sales activity—showed a 10.13% increase over the April 2015 report and set a new record for the month.  So far this year, we’ve seen an 8.06% increase over the first four reports from 2015.  When equated to taxable sales, the amount spent in Marble Falls from November to February totaled more than $124 million, which includes an increase of $9.265 million over the same period last year.

The construction activity report presented by the City’s Development Services department this morning shows an even more robust trend.  In the first three months of 2016, nearly $17.5 million worth of development activity in the City has been permitted.  This is a 175% increase over the same period in 2015.  Admittedly, Q1 2015 was not our strongest quarter, but the current period is still more than double the first-quarter average over the last ten years.  With the current report, the value of permits issued in Marble Falls totals $38.9 million over the last six months and $54.9 million over the last nine months.

Finally, the most recent data on Marble Falls hotels has been out for a couple of weeks, but the numbers are also impressive.  The January hotel receipts report showed a 5.3% increase over the January 2015 report.  The 2015 annual report with a more comprehensive data compilation showed a total of 97,967 room nights booked, a 1.7% increase over 2014.  Occupancy increased from 56.3% to 57.2%, and revenue per available room increased by 4.9%.

Stay tuned to the EDC’s new web site, the City’s Development BUZZ page, and the Chamber’s hashtag campaign on social media for updates.