Orders for durable goods increased, while two consumer outlook indexes saw slight dips, and lay offs ticked up from historic lows, but remained in comfortable territory.
Durable Goods Orders
Orders for durable goods placed in June grew by 3.4 percent to hit $235.3 billion, according to last week's report from the Census Bureau. Transportation equipment orders were a key driver for June's performance, posting an 8.9 percent gain over May to hit $78.4 billion.
This marked the first increase since March, and outpaced market expectations of a 3 percent gain. Durable … (0 comments)
Existing home sales outpaced expectations to hit an eight-year high, while new home sales were at a seven-month low. Meanwhile, lay-offs shrank to their smallest rate in more than 40 years.
Existing Home Sales
Sales of existing single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 3.2 percent to an annual rate of 5.49 million in June, according to last week’s report from the National Association of Realtors. This was not only well ahead of the market expectation for a 5.4 million-unit pace, but marked the highest level in more than eight … (0 comments)
New home construction took off, and lay-offs tumbled, while retail sales experienced an unexpected dip.
New Home Construction
Construction on new homes enjoyed a sizable surge, growing 9.8 percent to an annual rate of 1,174,000, the Census Bureau reported last week. In comparison to June 2014, this marked a considerable 26.6 percent annual increase. The key driver in last month’s new home construction was multi-family unit ground-breakings, which increased 29.4 percent. Meanwhile, new construction on single-family homes actually shrank 0.9 percent to a rate of 685,000.
Wholesale inventories enjoyed a larger-than-expected increase, while layoffs also (unfortunately) saw an unexpectedly large rise, and consumer credit also saw solid gains.
Wholesale Inventories
Wholesale inventories rose further than expected, growing 0.8 percent in May to hit a total of $581.9 billion, according to last week's report from the Census Bureau. The market had only expected as much as a 0.8 percent increase.
Wholesale inventories are an important metric, because they indicate wholesalers' anticipation for coming economic conditions. In this case, the 0.8 percent gain over April indicated a good level … (0 comments)
Unemployment hit a seven-year low, but wages remained flat. Meanwhile, lay-offs saw a short-term increase, and construction spending enjoyed solid growth.
Unemployment
Unemployment fell to a seven-year low, with the economy adding 223,000 in June, and the unemployment rate dropping to 5.3 percent from May’s 5.5 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week.
However, while the unemployment dropped, it wasn’t necessarily for the best reasons. The U.S. labor force declined by 432,000 people in June. This caused the labor force participation rate to drop by 0.3 percent to 62.6 … (0 comments)
Existing home sales saw a healthy jump both in terms of volume and price, while new home sales hit a new high, and lay-offs saw a slight increase.
Existing Home Sales
Sales of existing single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops rose 5.1 percent in May to an annual rate of 5.35 million from April’s 5.09 million pace, the National Association of Realtors reported last week. Compared to the same period last year, sales were up 9.2 percent, marking the eighth consecutive month of year-or-year gains.
Retail sales enjoyed a solid jump, while lay-offs remained at levels that indicated a healthy job market. In the meantime, wholesalers expanded their inventories, which is a sign of anticipated growth.
Retail Sales
Cash register receipts enjoyed a shot in the arm as retail and food services sales for May hit $444.9 billion, a healthy gain of 1.2 percent over the previous month, and 2.7 percent over May 2014’s receipts, the Census Bureau reported last week.
All told, 11 of the Census Bureau’s 13 main sales categories experienced growth, while health … (0 comments)
The unemployment rate grew, but so did the number of jobs added to the economy, while lay-offs fell, prompting optimism from labor market watchers. Also, personal incomes grew while spending was essentially flat.
Unemployment
The unemployment rate, a closely watched metric since the 2008 recession sent the job market to the canvas, actually ticked slightly up in May after months of successive declines.
The unemployment notched up to 5.5 percent in May from April’s 5.4 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week. However, the economy concurrently added 280,000 non-farm … (0 comments)
The unemployment rate grew, but so did the number of jobs added to the economy, while lay-offs fell, prompting optimism from labor market watchers. Also, personal incomes grew while spending was essentially flat.
Unemployment
The unemployment rate, a closely watched metric since the 2008 recession sent the job market to the canvas, actually ticked slightly up in May after months of successive declines.
The unemployment notched up to 5.5 percent in May from April’s 5.4 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week. However, the economy concurrently added 280,000 non-farm … (0 comments)
Retail sales were flat, while lay-offs remained at historic lows, and wholesale prices saw nearly across-the-board declines, especially where gasoline prices were concerned.
Retail Sales
Retail sales remained flat in April, totaling $436.8 billion, which was virtually unchanged from the previous month, according to last week’s report from the Census Bureau. In comparison to last year, April was just 0.9 percent higher than April 2014.
Many economists were at a loss to determine the exact cause for such flat sales. Lingering cold weather could have had some impact, as would the … (0 comments)
Unemployment notched down to 5.4 percent, while lay-offs continued to hover at a near 15-year low, and consumer borrowing outpaced market expectations.
Unemployment
The economy added 223,000 non-farm jobs in April, while the unemployment rate posted another decrease, tapering to 5.4 percent, according to last week’s news from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of unemployed Americans totaled 8.5 million for the month.
That said, job market watchers were still waiting for a sizable increase in salaries. Average hourly earnings for all non-farm employees grew by just 3 cents in … (0 comments)
Incomes and spending saw growth, but it was behind expectations, while layoffs tumbled to their lowest point in 15 years, and construction spending contracted.
Incomes and Spending
Incomes and spending saw growth, but it was less than expected. Personal incomes skirted up a scant $6.2 billion (less than 0.1 percent) in March, with disposable personal income (DPI; income after taxes) increasing $1.6 billion (again, less than 0.1 percent), according to last week’s report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Meanwhile, personal consumption expenditures (PCE), which describes household spending on goods and … (0 comments)
Existing home sales posted solid gains, while new home sales were a mixed bag (but on the whole positive), and layoffs saw a slight increase.
Existing Home Sales
Sales of existing homes hit an 18-month high, with transactions of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, advancing 6.1 percent to an annual rate of 5.19 million in March, according to last week’s report form the National Association of Realtors. Compared annually, March’s sales were 10.4 percent above a year ago, which marked the largest annual increase since August 2013’s 10.7 percent … (0 comments)
Student and car loans continued to drive an expansion in consumer borrowing, while lay-offs increased, but remained at low levels, and wholesale inventories grew, signaling possible increased wholesale activity in the near future. Consumer Credit Consumer credit grew 5.6 percent in February to hit a total of $3.34 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported last week. This constituted a $15.5 billion increase over the previous month, beating market growth expectations by $3 billion. Notably, the growth was driven by non-revolving debt, such as car or student loans, which … (0 comments)
greenville sc mortgage lender: Staging Your Home to Sell in Greenville SC
- 04/13/15 07:04 AM
Staging Your Home to Sell in Greenville SC In a manner of speaking, staging your home is putting its best foot forward: you're setting up each room to look inviting to prospective buyers of all types. Showcase your home’s best features, and minimizes any flaws. Clean and clear Ideally, you’d start with a completely empty home, painted in neutrals and perfectly clean. In reality, you get as close to this ideal as you can by boxing up personal items, clearing out closets and stacking everything neatly in your tidy and [now] organized garage and attic. Items that must stay out in the open need … (0 comments)
The economy continued to add jobs, but the growth was at its slowest pace in more than a year, while lay-offs saw unexpectedly good news, and personal incomes and spending saw modest gains. Unemployment The U.S. economy added just 126,000 jobs in March, which, while an increase, was the slowest pace of job growth since December 2013. This kept the unemployment rate at 5.5 percent, unchanged from last month, according to figures released by the Department of Labor last week. Overall, the number of unemployed Americans saw … (1 comments)
Here is last week’s Economic News in Review Greenville SC.
Last week saw encouraging housing news with sales of existing homes reaching their best rate in 12 months, and new home sales hitting their fastest pace in seven years. Also, layoffs enjoyed a better-than-expected drop. Existing Home Sales Sales of existing homes hit their fastest pace in a year, rising 1.2 percent to an annual rate of 4.88 million in February, according to last week’s report from the National Association of Realtors. All told, sales of existing single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops were … (0 comments)
Here is last week’s Economic News in Review Greenville SC.
Last week’s economic headlines showed that retail sales were up while first-time jobless claims had dropped as the winter’s frigid grasp on the economy seemed to be loosening. Retails Sales Retail sales for February increased 0.3 percent to $427.2 billion, and were 1.5 percent higher than last year’s sales from February 2013, the Census Bureau reported last week. February’s performance outpaced analysts’ expectations of 0.2 percent growth for the month. “The economy seems to be rebounding from a winter-related slump,” Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ … (0 comments)
If you’re spending time with prospective homebuyers who can’t actually qualify for a home mortgage, you’ve wasted your time and lost out on potential income. Wouldn’t it make more sense to concentrate your efforts on helping qualified clients that are serious about making a home purchase? A preapproval can help ensure you’re doing just that. Prequalification vs. Preapproval These terms are often used interchangeably — but there are big differences between the two. With a prequalification, the lender is performing a few checks on the prospective borrower’s finances to determine the home … (1 comments)
Here is last week’s Economic News in Review Greenville SC.
Real estate was the big newsmaker last week, with existing and new home sales showing middling performance. While real estate was mixed, initial jobless claims took an unexpected bounce upward. Existing Home Sales Sales of existing homes for January were a mixed bag. Transactions of existing single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, fell 4.9 percent to an annual rate of 4.82 million in January, according to the National Association of Realtors. This was their lowest pace in nine months, but 3.2 percent higher than the … (0 comments)
Economic News in Review Greenville SC
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