e-EDGE is now available as an RSS feed. [Click here to subscribe to it.]- March 13, 2013: UCLA Anderson Forecast Presents - Quarterly Forecast Conference
SoCal’s Housing Market Opens 2013 with Sales and Price Gains
Home sales in Southern California rose in January to 16,058 units (new and resale houses and condos), increasing by 10.6% compared with January 2012. This was the best January for home sales in six years. Orange County pulled ahead of the pack last month, with homes sales shooting up by 29.9%, while San Diego followed as a distant second at 15.2%. The median price jumped by 23.5% to $321,000. The median price in the six-county region has now increased on a year-over-year basis for 10 consecutive months.
Investors and cash buyers are hovering at near record levels, but the move-up market continues to post sizable gains as well. In January, sales of homes priced between $300,000 and $800,000 (a range that includes move-up buyers), increased by 49.6% over the year. Sales of homes priced over $500,000 jumped by 74% year-over-year, while sales of homes priced over $800,000 were up by 84.2% compared with January 2012.
In contrast, the number of homes priced below $300,000 that sold in January fell by 12.2% over the year and sales of homes below $200,000 plunged by 23.5%. Sales in more affordable areas have been hampered by a lack of inventory, caused by the slowdown in foreclosures, and by the large number of homeowners who cannot move because they still owe more than their homes are worth.
The sharp year-over-year increases in median prices are the result of supply coming up short against supply. More tempered price gains will be forthcoming when supply improves. Some improvement may occur this year, especially with non-distressed homes. However, low end markets with a lot of distressed properties in the mix will still face severe supply constraints. (Kimberly Ritter-Martinez)
Source: http://www.dqnews.com/
Retail Sales Edge Higher by 0.1% in January
Total U.S. retail and food services sales edged up in January by 0.1% over the month. Core retail sales, which pull out sales of gasoline, automobiles, and building and gardening supplies, rose by 0.2%.
The best performing sectors were: general merchandise stores (up by 1.1%), nonstore retailers (up by 0.9%) and sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (up by 0.6%).
Five of the 13 retail sales categories posted declines: motor vehicle and parts dealers (-0.1%), furniture and home furnishings (-0.2%), health and personal care (-1.0%), clothing and clothing accessories (-0.3%), and miscellaneous store retailers (-2.6%).
Over the year, total retail sales advanced by 4.4%, and core retail sales were up by 4.2%. Nonstore retail sales (catalog and online) continued to outpace overall retail growth, shooting up by 15.7% over the year in January.
January’s lackluster retail sales performance was not unexpected. Higher payroll taxes kicked in starting last month leaving consumers with smaller paychecks. For many households that meant having to rethink spending decisions to fit within a new budget. (Kimberly Ritter-Martinez)
Source: http://www.census.gov/retail/marts/www/marts_current.pdf
Events of Interest
Wednesday, March 13: UCLA Anderson Forecast Presents: Quarterly Forecast Conference
7:30 A.M. to 11:45 A.M. Korn Convocation Hall, UCLA Anderson School
Across the globe, countries are trying to dig out of recession and slow growth with export oriented policies. But not every country can achieve this goal, some have to be more import dependent. In recent decades, the U.S. has run large trade deficits. To correct this imbalance the U.S. has to have larger net exports. But can this be achieved in a Globalized world? The Anderson Forecast will explore this topic along with a roll out of the Quarterly Forecast for the U.S. and California at a conference on the 13th of March.
The Economic Data Global Express (e-EDGE) is a free service of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC). Permission to quote any proprietary part of this release is granted given proper credit. Distribution is allowed provided that no modifications are made to the original content. Sponsors of this service do not necessarily endorse all opinions stated herein. For more information, please e-mail to [email protected]. To contact LAEDC, please call 213-622-4300.
Subscribe to e-EDGE and receive current economic news and major developments. Your e-mail address will not be disclosed to any outside party (including e-EDGE sponsors) under any circumstances.
To send us comments regarding e-EDGE, please e-mail to [email protected].