Category: ‘Economic News’

Economic Analysis of Florida

July 18, 2012 Posted by Rick

Here’s an incredibly comprehensive analysis of our state’s economic position. Very informative and revealing.

As an aside, in my humble opinion, politicians and media members that trumpet unemployment numbers going down as if things are improving, when in fact the falling numbers are due to unemployed people dropping out because of  frustration and/or lack of hope, are heartless, syphilitic scum-suckers. Just saying. Sorry for the harshness, but they’re treating us like imbeciles, and we’re swallowing it.

Construction job growth by state

July 17, 2012 Posted by Rick

An interesting map based on an AGC report showing construction job growth/contraction across the country. Hey, at least we beat Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi and Michigan! Scroll down in the article. It has some interesting insights.

Housing Market Improves

March 16, 2012 Posted by Rick

On the other hand, the housing continues to improve across the country in terms of housing permits, employment and house prices. Orlando is one of the new entrants to the list of cities showing marked improvement. With 31 metropolitan areas being added and 30 dropping off, it seems like more of a roller coaster ride to me.

Cost of Construction Materials Rises

March 16, 2012 Posted by Rick

As if you didn’t know this already. There’s more to come thanks to the policies and actions of the federal government. True inflation (not the government’s bogus number) is running at about 8%. The price of food and gasoline does count, contrary to what they want us to believe (or not know).

Investment in Construction Equipment more than Doubled

March 11, 2012 Posted by Rick

Investment in construction equipment more than doubled in the last two years and reached a record high in the third quarter of 2011,’ which could signify better times for the construction industry. Although we are all hoping for improvements in growth and profitability in 2012, the picture is not all that clear.

From the article, I do like Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, Inc.  forecast that ‘private nonresidential construction shows the best prospects for 2012…5 percent to 10 percent growth.’

Condo Market in South Florida Recovers

March 9, 2012 Posted by Rick

This is the report I’ve been looking for, from Condo Vultures®, LLC. ‘South Florida’s supply of new condo product created during the recent boom is on pace to sell out in the first half of 2013.’

Very informative, giving statistics and reasons for recovery. I was not aware of the heavy influence of the foreign and bulk buyers, much less that the inventory glut was drying up. Like I said before, I thought we were in for a 10 year recovery period. Most important to us in the construction biz is the planned construction.

‘In anticipation of the eventual sellout of the new condos created during the boom, developers are already proposing 24 new condo projects with more than 4,500 units in each of the counties of South Florida’, according to Condo Vultures®. As of March 6, 2012, at least five new condo towers have already formally initiated construction.’

U.S. Housing … Buyers Coaxed Back

March 7, 2012 Posted by Rick

Good news for a change in the housing market.

Trends for Small Business Owners in 2012

March 4, 2012 Posted by Rick

I think that we’re in for a topsy-turvy year on the economic front. Almost everything that we’re seeing mirrors what this article points out. There’s a lot of built up pressure that one day is going to erupt into a booming economy, but the negative pressure will fight to keep it from happening. It may occur this year, but I believe that the lid won’t come off until next year after the election (assuming you-know-who doesn’t win). Keep in mind, though, that CPAs don’t make the best economic forecasters. But then, we can’t be any worse at it than the ‘professional’ economists, can we?

Florida Housing Market – Not so bad after all

March 4, 2012 Posted by Rick

I’ve been catching a lot of grief for my pessimistic post regarding the housing market. The case has been convincingly made that the Florida market is recovering quite nicely, thank you. It seems South American buyers have been snapping up discounted properties at a rapid rate. I’m looking into this phenomenon, and will report on it when I am better informed. If this is correct, then I can say that I’ve never been happier to be wrong. Mea culpa! I’ve been predicting that the housing market would take at least 10 years to recover, given the horrendous inventory of empty units. Hooray for the South Americans!

Home Prices In 20 U.S. Cities Decline More Than Forecast

February 28, 2012 Posted by Rick

And this is why I’m not so optimistic. Seems like all of the bad economic news over the last couple of years is ‘unexpected’. Our clients’ views so far seem to be a mixed bag. Some are semi-gloomy, some are upbeat and hopeful. Heck, I’m hopeful. It’s hard to discern where we are right now. Every region of the country is different…every region of Florida is recovering at different rates as well.

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