Real Estate Daily News Buzz is designed to give news snippets to readers that our (yet to be award winning) editors thought you could use to start your day. They come from various business perspectives, real estate, government, the Fed, local news, and the stock markets to save you time. Here you will find the headlines and what the news buzz for the day will be.
The Dow Jones industrial average edged down 1.35 points, or less than 0.1%, to 15,568.93. The NASDAQ composite closed down 3.23 points, or 0.1%, at 3,940.13.
Benchmark U.S. crude for December delivery gained 83 cents at $98.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
METRO PHOENIX POPULATION FORECASTED TO GROW 471,100
PHOENIX- Metropolitan Phoenix population forecasted to grow by 471,100 – Population growth is predicted to increase annually by 4,220 during the next five years according to the Forecasting Project at the University of Arizona.
SFR PRICES UP 36.5% IN METRO PHOENIX
PHOENIX – The single family median home sales price in August 2013 was up 28% t $192,000 from $150,000 in August 2012 according to Arizona State University, Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice
SFR BUILDING PERMITS UP 13.7% METRO PHOENIX
Single family home permits totaled 10,106 at the end of August 2013 compared to 9,279 permits for the same time period one year ago according to R.L. Brown. This is an 8.9% increase in the issuance of single family permits year-over-year.
WILL PHOENIX HIGH RENTS HOLD?
PHOENIX-High-end apartments, more plush and luxurious than ever seen before in Phoenix are appearing on the market in select areas, with rents to match. In Central Phoenix, the Valley’s most expensive rental area, effective rents average $1,062 compared to $818 throughout the rest of the Valley, according to a Q3 Marcus and Millichap apartment research report. But will it hold? “We don’t know because we haven’t seen that tested yet. However I’ll speculate we’re going to be pretty successful,” says Jack Hannum, vice president of Transwestern.Data so far is mixed. Q3 rents in the North Tempe/University submarket jumped 12% year-over-year to an average effective rent of $1,026, making it the Valley’s second most expensive market, according to Marcus and Millichap. Central Phoenix rents were down 7% year-over-year, although the 5.9% vacancy rate ranked among the Valley’s healthiest. Hannum says for the most part, properties in lease-up are attracting the strong rents needed to justify the developments. “We’ll have clarity in 18 to 24 months,” he tells GlobeSt.com. For full story click here
US FACTORY OUTPUT RISES JUST 0.1% IN SEPTEMBER
WASHINGTON - According to the Federal Reserve Monday, U.S. factories barely boosted their output in September, adding to other signs that the economy was slowing even before the government shutdown began on Oct. 1. Manufacturing production rose only 0.1%. That’s down from a 0.5% gain in August, which was slightly lower than previously reported. Automakers boosted their output in September, but the gain was offset by declines at makers of computers, furniture and appliances.
SIGNED HOME CONTRACTS PLUNGE IN SEPTEMBER
WASHINGTON - The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy existing homes fell in September to the lowest level in nine months. The decline reflects higher mortgage rates and home prices that have made purchases more costly. The National Association of Realtors said Monday that its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index dropped 5.6% last month from August to a reading of 101.6. That also pushed the index below its year-ago level, the first time that’s happened in nearly 2 1/2 years. There is generally a one- to two-month lag between a signed contract and a completed sale. The drop suggests final sales will decline in the coming months.
CONSOL TO SELL 5 MINES FOR ABOUT $850MILLION CASH
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Consol Energy Inc. said Monday it is selling all five of its long wall coal mines in West Virginia to a subsidiary of Ohio-based Murray Energy for a deal that includes $850 million in cash. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer J. Brett Harvey said the sale of the Consolidation Coal Co. subsidiary was a difficult decision but is good for the company’s long-term growth and allows Consol to focus more on natural gas exploration and development. Consol is selling the McElroy, Shoemaker, Robinson Run, Loveridge and Blacksville No. 2 mines, which produced a combined 28.5 million tons of thermal coal last year. The transaction also includes river and dock operations with a fleet of 600 barges and 21 towboats.
APPLE iPHONE SALES UP, BUT 4Q EARNINGS DROP
SAN FRANCISCO - Apple’s latest quarterly earnings fell 9% as more people bought the company’s lower-priced iPhones and iPads.The company’s fourth-quarter results announced Monday included early sales of the latest iPhones released late last month. The models, called the 5S and 5C, helped Apple Inc. increase its iPhone sales from the same time last year. But the average price that Apple fetched for its iPhones declined to extend a recent trend that has trimmed the Cupertino, Calif., company’s profit margin and depressed its stock price. This marks the third consecutive quarter that Apple’s earnings have dropped from the previous year.
MERCK 3Q NET INCOME FALLS ON CHARGES, LOWER SALES
Merck & Co.’s third-quarter profit plunged 35 per cent because of competition from generic drugs, lower sales of its top-selling medicine, and restructuring and acquisition charges. It still beat Wall Street’s profit expectations, but sharply lowered its own forecast for the full year, sending shares down. Generic competition continues to hammer asthma and allergy pill Singulair, cutting sales 53% to $280 million. The drug brought in $5.5 billion a year until its patent expired in August 2012 and cheap copycat versions flooded the market.
BURGER KING SEES PROMISE IN 'SATISFRIES' AFTER FIRST MONTH
NEW YORK - Burger King says it’s attracting more customers with its new lower-calorie fries but is being careful not to call them a home run yet. The Miami-based company said Monday that it saw sales trends in North America turn positive after last month’s launch of “Satisfries,” which have 20% fewer calories than its regular fries because of a batter that absorbs less oil. The move into positive sales territory in October comes after Burger King said that sales slipped 0.3 per cent at North America restaurants open at least a year during its third quarter. Satisfries, which cost around 30 cents more than regular fries, weren’t introduced until the last week of the quarter, which ended Sept. 30.
LUXURY GOODS SALES SLOW AS CHINA’S DEMAND EBBS
MILAN - Chinese shoppers are cutting back on designer duds, leather handbags and pricey watches, putting a drag on global sales of luxury goods, which a study forecasts to expand just 2% this year. The analysis released Monday by Bain & Company estimated 2013 luxury sales at 217 billion euros ($300 billion), up from 212 billion euros in 2012. The increase is a fraction of the double-digit growth enjoyed the previous three years. Sales of luxury goods in China are expected to grow by just 2.5%, to 15.3 billion euros, as a result of an anti-corruption crackdown that has slowed gift-giving and a tendency by Chinese tourists to shop abroad, Bain said.
Real Estate Daily News is sponsored by Stewart Title and Trust – The only title company named one of
"AMERICA'S MOST TRUSTWORTHY COMPANIES" in 2012 by Forbes®.
Contact Stewart Title & Trust of Tucson at (520) 327-7373 for your next closing.