Cowlitz County’s unemployment numbers came in at 12.8%, which is stabilizing. It is worse than it was in the previous month of December to January 2011 and ranks still as one of the highest in the state of Washington for unemployment. Biggest loss of jobs was in the mining industries, and construction continued to show weakness. Most of the state overall showed stabilization of unemployment numbers which is a positive factor, and in my opinion is one of the driving factors of house prices. When one can stabilize or improve unemployment, you will notice values to stabilize. If someone has a job, they can buy a house, so hopefully that trend continues to go down in Cowlitz County.

Kerry N. Greenwald 

 NMLS # 70269

Sr. VA  Loan Specialist

Creekside Mortgage Inc.

360.571.LOAN (5626)

www.VALoanWA.com