Economic Update

On Monday, March 23, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales rose 5.1% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.72 million, from 4.49 million in January. Economists had expected an annualized rate of 4.45 million homes.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications for the week ending March 20 increased 32% to 1,159.4 from 876.9 the previous week. Purchase volume rose 4.2% to 267.8 from 257.1 the previous week, while refinancing applications jumped 42% to 6,363.2 from 4,497.6.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that orders for durable goods, items expected to last three or more years, jumped 3.4% in February. It was the strongest one-month gain in 14 months and the report breaks a record six consecutive months of decline. Economists had anticipated orders for durable goods to fall 2%. Among the areas of strong growth were orders for heavy machinery, up 13.5%, and demand for computers, up 10.1%.

New home sales unexpectedly rose 4.7% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 337,000 units, according to a report by the Commerce Department. Analysts had expected a drop to 300,000 units in February. Also, the results for January were revised upward to 322,000. Nevertheless, that figure represents the slowest monthly pace since record keeping began in 1963.

On Thursday, the Commerce Department announced its final revision to the fourth quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It showed the U.S. economy decreased at an annual rate of 6.3% in the fourth quarter of 2008. It was the lowest pace since the first quarter of 1982, when output contracted 6.4%. For all of 2008, the economy grew 1.1%.

Upcoming on the economic calendar are reports on consumer confidence on March 31, pending home sales on April 1 and factory orders on April 2.

A HOME OF YOUR OWN – SARASOTA REAL ESTATE

A HOME OF YOUR OWN – SARASOTA REAL ESTATE

Every man when he starts making a living and has a family of his own, the thing that is uppermost on his mind is to have a cozy nest which he can call his home. Especially, if it happens to be in a locality of his choice, that would be an icing on the cake. Sarasota real estate offers that opportunity to all those who have been looking for a dream house of their own.

Buying a house cannot be a “spur of the moment decision”, but has lot of prior spade work to be done. First and foremost, you need to take some time off from your hectic schedule, in order to invest some time for this which will act as a precursor to your dream project. The number of vacant properties may be plenty, but if you want to clinch the right deal, you will have start working on it straightaway. First, decide about the size of the house, the number of bedroom needed for you, the kind of elevation that would suit you, the kitchen module, the bathrooms and their size, and any other specification close to your heart, and of course keeping in mind your budget and the kind of mortgage loan that you are looking for. Prepare this ground work and then look for more details either through internet or may be you can get hold of a broker who with his practical exposure to the landed properties in the area, should be in a position to enlighten you and may even succeed in striking a financially viable deal in your favour. Then approach finance company or a bank with commendable paperwork done in advance, to enable you to get a good mortgage loan that adequately covers purchase rate.

Now, with all these efforts on your part, a dream house in Sarasota real estate will soon become a reality.

Challenger wins in 2nd try for Longboat Commission

Challenger wins in 2nd try for Longboat Commission

In his second attempt to be elected to the Longboat Key commission, challenger, Gene Jaleski was successful in ousting incumbent Randall Clair, who had served two terms as a commissioner. With a 35% turnout of registered voters, Jaleski was able to prevail over Clair by a margin of 200 votes, more specifically, 1,241 to 1,043. This was the first time in six years that a challenger was able to defeat an incumbent sitting on the Commission. There were many issues involved in the campaign included a proposed improvement of the Longboat Key Club. The cost of the improvements are estimated to cost $400,000,000.00. Improvments to the Club include expansions to the facilities. Jaleski had been instrumental in the presentation of the proposal regarding the improvement and expansion of the Club. Clair, on the other hand, was not committal on the issue.

Another factor that played heavily in the election was an issue regarding cell phone towers on the north end of the island. As Jaleski was opposed to the erection of the towers, it is reasonable to believe that the anti-tower group supported Jaleski in the election.

The final issue that in all likelihood had a large impact on the outcome of the election was the fact that Clair had suggested cuts to the pensions of city employees. This shifted the votes of Longboat Key’s firefighters and paramedics from Clair to Jaleski.

When asked about his success in the election, Gene Jaleski attributed much of his success to having had the opportunity to run, albeit unsuccessfully previously and having a better understanding as to how to run a campaign.

Recovery or inflation?

The Federal Reserve was widely expected to hold the short-term bank lending rate at between zero and 0.25 percent, so it came as no surprise when it did. The decision to dump money into the economy to try to buy us out of the recession was only slightly more surprising, but the amount — $1.2 trillion — took everyone by surprise. Hoping to lower mortgages rates and consumer debt, the Fed will spend up to $300 billion to buy long-term government bonds and an additional $750 billion in mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Market reaction
The immediate market reaction was good: the Dow bounced 90 points, the S&P soared, and all market indicators were generally positive. Government bond prices leaped too, since mortgage rates will be going down even further than before. If, and it’s a great big if, this can help stabilize credit markets and get us all spending, the economy may start to climb out of recession this year. But is there a catch? You bet.

Inflation
Some economists — the ones with more than 10 minutes training in economics 101 — say the $3.9 Trillion slated for the budget can’t help but create galloping inflation the minute the economy starts to recover. In fact, inflation may not even wait for the recovery; the dollar took an immediate tumble against other major currencies with the Fed announcement. The Wall Street Journal’s Judy Shelton doesn’t mince words: “How can capitalism find its footing when the monetary foundation is shifting with each new government bailout — each new infusion of deficit-financed government expenditure? American families deserve better than to be punished by wasteful public spending and ruinous inflation.”

More free eco-cash
So you didn’t qualify for freebies from the mortgage bailout? Cheer up — Washington is on a spending spree, and you can get up to $19,000 in upgrades to your house. Expanded tax incentives in 2009 and 2010 for energy-efficient and renewable-energy home improvements include $1,500 in tax credits for qualifying windows, doors, insulation, roofs, heating and cooling equipment, water heaters, and even wood and pellet stoves. You’ll get a tax credit of 30% with no upper limit through 2016 for installing qualifying solar technology, small wind-energy systems, or geothermal-well systems.

AIG again
The House will vote today on a bill to levy a 90 percent tax on bonuses paid to employees with family incomes above $250,000, who work at companies that have received at least $5 billion in government bailout money. Edward Liddy, brought in last year by the government to run AIG, told a House subcommittee Wednesday that the company was contractually obligated to pay the bonuses but added that many of them had already returned part of all of the bonuses. The saga continues.