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Worcester Business Journal www.wbjournal.com 2014 Economic Forecast 9 2014 2014 Predictions Why It Will Happen Our Prediction A health care provider in Central Mass. will be involved in a merger or acquisition. Regional housing prices will rise, but only by a little, as more homes — including new ones — become available on the market. Enrollment growth in the region's colleges and universities will continue to slow as the economy continues its surge and more people opt to work rather than go back to school. Continued cost pressures within the industry will drive more merger- and-acquisition activity throughout the United States as health care reform begins to take hold. Businesses react to market demand, and while a seller's market was taking hold throughout 2013, builders will prepare new projects to help meet that demand. } } e number of branches owned by banks based outside Central Massachusetts will dwindle. e nation's Gross Domestic Product will top 3 percent. CitySquare will move ahead — slowly — as officials review new plans for housing in the downtown area. Another major employer will announce plans to move or expand into Marlborough, bringing with it at least 100 jobs. e state sales tax will be lowered from its current 6.25 percent. Office vacancy rates in Central Mass. will fall 3 percent while rents will rise. e national and state unemployment rates will fall, with the national rate ending the year at less than 6.5 percent. at may be part of the issue for higher education. e other is the high degree of "sticker shock" being experienced by parents of college-bound teenagers. } } Early indications are that revenue will rise in the first half of 2014, and the Democratic majority will be hard pressed to say no to such a measure on the eve of the November elections. Mobile banking is on the rise, and the cost pressures on bigger banks will force them to take a hard look at all their retail operations to wring out savings. Economic indicators in the fourth quarter of 2013 were portending even stronger economic growth in 2014. Anything higher than 3 percent would indicate that happy days are here. But how long will they last? With the first phase complete, developers will be looking at the potential for increased foot traffic. Housing will help, as will the pending opening of Quinsigamond Community College's downtown campus on Franklin Street. When you're on a roll (Boston Scientific, TJX and Quest) and you have access to several major thoroughfares, more good things can happen. An improving economy can do that, as well as the region's advantage of having cheaper rents than Boston and Cambridge. A jobless rate of less than 6.5 percent may lead the Federal Reserve to cut back on its bond-buying program. at, in turn, will lead to a rise in mortgage rates. If the U.S. jobless rate drops, the Bay State rate should experience a similar fall. } } } } } }