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Monday, June 18, 2012
Source: Ivan Radford
California's housing market continued to improve in May, with home prices posting solid gains for the third straight month and home sales well above last year's pace, according to the California Association of Realtors.
"California home sales were strong in May, continuing the gradual recovery of the California housing market," said C.A.R. President LeFrancis Arnold. "First-time buyers are recognizing that the housing market has hit bottom and are now seeing a sense of urgency to take advantage of ultra-low interest rates and advantageous home prices. Additionally, trade-up buyers are returning to the market after sitting it out for the past few years to get in on favorable home prices."
May sales surged 21.5 percent from May 2011's revised 470,910 pace, marking the highest year-over-year sales increase since May 2009. The statewide sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2012 if sales maintained the May pace throughout the year and is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.
The May 2012 sales pace was the highest since February 2009, when 598,770 homes were sold at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate.
Home prices appear to be stabilizing, with the median home price posting both month-over-month and year-over-year gains for the third consecutive month. The statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home was $312,110 in May, the highest since September 2010.
May's price was up 1 percent from a revised $309,050 in April and 6.6 percent from a revised $292,850 recorded in May 2011. The May 2012 figure was 27.3 percent higher than the cyclical bottom of $245,230 reached in February 2009. The median price has posted above the $300,000 level for the second straight month after remaining below that mark for 15 months.
The increase in the median price can be attributed to the strong sales increase in the higher-priced coastal regions, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, where job growth is strong and the economy is growing faster than other areas of the state.
California's housing inventory sank lower in May, with the Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes dropping to 3.5 months in May, down from 4.2 months in April. May's housing inventory was down from a revised 5.7 months in May 2011. The index indicates the number of months needed to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate. A 7-month supply is considered normal.
"Low housing inventory continues to be the critical issue in the California market," said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. "Inventory levels have not been this low since December 2005, when the supply matched the current level. The Bay Area has the greatest shortage of homes for sale, with inventory levels in the two- to three-month range for Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties."
Source: www.themovechannel.com
Great Estate Roadshow Tour to Stop in Mason, Ohio and Florence, Kentucky - YAHOO!
Great Estate Roadshow, the nation’s premier buyer of antique goods, collectibles and precious metals, announces it is coming to Mason, Ohio and Florence, Kentucky on June 19 through June 23, 2012. A member of the Better Business Bureau, Great Estate Roadshow offers free evaluations with no pressure to sell.
Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) June 18, 2012
Antique collectors and treasure hunters alike are thrilled with the recent announcement that the Great Estate Roadshow has added visits to Mason, Ohio and Florence, Kentucky on June 19 through June 23, 2012. The Great Estate Roadshow is one of the nation’s premier buyer of antique goods, collectibles and precious metals and visits up to 50 cities per month and over 500 cities per year in nearly every state in the U.S.As a member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Great Estate Roadshow is dedicated to upholding the high standards of the BBB Code of Business Practices. The process of acquiring accreditation by the BBB requires the commitment by the organization to build trust within the market by maintaining a positive track record. Transparencies, honesty, respecting the privacy of the consumer, and committing to be responsive to consumers inquiries are also requirements.
The Great Estate Roadshow is proud to have assembled a team of the most experienced and knowledgeable coin, diamond, gold, and silver professionals in the business together into this "dream team" who can accurately evaluate everyone's treasures, and even offer to buy them on the spot. “Great Estate Roadshow’s buyers are committed to a high standard of conducting transactions with integrity,” said Howard Klotzkin, a partner in the Great Estate Roadshow.
Sellers are encouraged to do their research on their collectibles by getting evaluations from other reputable companies or by researching on the internet prior to coming for a Great Estate Roadshow evaluation. “Evaluations are always free and there is never pressure to sell. We encourage everyone to bring their treasures in for a quote," Klotzkin noted.
“There is nothing more exciting than a customer realizing the true value of discarded jewelry or a dusty autographed baseball card. The crowd really gets into the fun of the discovery," said Great Estate Roadshow Gem Specialist Scott Pollak.
"The process for obtaining a free, no-obligation evaluation from the Great Estate Roadshow is simple and straight forward. Potential sellers should bring their antiques, collectibles, coins and jewelry to the nearest Great Estate Roadshow," said Pollak.
Call 888.537.8283 or visit http://www.greatestateroadshow.com.
Barbara Basham
Great Estate Roadshow
609-479-3528
Email Information
Source: news.yahoo.com
California Public Employees Win Concessions in New Budget - Bloomberg
The budget California’s Democratic- controlled Legislature sent to Governor Jerry Brown last week granted concessions to public employee unions even as talks continue on cutting programs for the poor.
Democrats removed language that would have authorized the governor to order unpaid days off, known as furloughs, if unions balked at a proposed one-year, 5 percent payroll reduction. The $92 billion spending plan, which counts on higher taxes and cuts in health care and welfare to close a $15.7 billion deficit, also prevents expanded use of private contractors for some government jobs.
Unions contributed $76.7 million to California politicians and ballot measures in 2010, when Brown and lawmakers were running, according to data compiled by the National Institute on Money in State Politics, a nonpartisan group based in Helena, Montana. Labor represented the single largest interest group in terms of contributions that year.
“It’s pretty clear who the winners in this budget plan are,” Senate Republican Caucus Leader Tom Harman of Orange County said during a floor debate June 15. “It’s the public- employee unions and not students, beneficiaries of state services or taxpayers.”
State workers were forced to take unpaid days off three times a month beginning in 2009, in what amounted to a 14 percent pay cut, as California faced annual deficits of as much as $42 billion. The unions agreed to pay more toward pension and retiree health-care costs and gave up some paid holidays. Their leaders have said any new concessions must come through negotiations.
Sign or Veto
Brown, a Democrat, hasn’t said if he’ll sign the budget or veto it over a welfare spending disagreement with legislators.
The budget adopted last week includes a $400 million general-fund savings in state personnel costs. Brown has proposed achieving that by having employees work 9.5 hours on four days instead of 8 hours in five days.
The largest union representing state workers, Service Employees International Union Local 1000, opposes use of furloughs to get that savings. Yvonne Walker, president of the 95,000-member union, wrote May 23 that unpaid time off is “not on the table.”
The SEIU wants any pay reduction to be linked to time off, according to a June 14 update on its website. The union wants to reduce the number of state contracts with private vendors and limit the number of retirees and student assistants the state hires to save money.
Talks Continue
“The negotiations are still ongoing and we know there is more work to do and we wanted to give some time for the governor and the unions to finish their negotiations,” Senate President Darrell Steinberg, a Democrat from Sacramento said when asked why he took the furlough language out of the budget.
Jim Zamora, a spokesman for Local 1000, declined to comment on whether union leaders are satisfied with the budget, noting that labor terms remain under negotiation.
Because some agencies must operate around the clock and can’t shut down for a day, unions for those workers are in talks to find the savings in other ways. Prison guards, forestry firefighters, mental-health hospital staff and the California Highway Patrol have already agreed to have their pay reduced by the equivalent of eight hours a month, the Sacramento Bee reported.
Leaders of the Professional Engineers in California Government, a union of 13,000 workers, said they wouldn’t agree to a 5 percent pay cut unless the state dropped a proposal for a 1-percentage-point increase in the number of private contractors that can be hired by the Transportation Department.
Contractor Costs
While contractors can cost more per hour, they are only paid when needed. State workers continue to draw pay even when not on a project and also collect pensions and benefits.
“One of the things we talked to the administration about initially was that outsourcing our jobs costs twice as much,” Bruce Blanning, the union’s executive director, said in a telephone interview. “We told them that if they would stop wasting money on outsourcing, then we would talk about saving some money through our members as well. Outsourcing costs money and they should get rid of that first.”
Republican lawmakers also said that Democrats included in the budget new language not proposed by Brown that prevents the University of California from contracting out some services.
During budget committee hearings, the Democrats approved Brown’s proposal to extend statewide collective bargaining to county-level in-home service workers, something unions have sought.
Cushion Cuts
Unions were also able to cushion cuts to that program, said Steve Smith, a spokesman for the California Labor Federation, which represents 2.1 million employees, about half of them working in government.
Unions continue to resist cuts to the state welfare-to-work program and to subsidies for child care for the working poor, both issues contained in supporting bills still to be voted on, Smith said by telephone.
“In our view, there aren’t any winners,” he said of the budget. “What small victories working people achieved here were staving off even deeper blows.”
Even as pay reductions are negotiated, many state workers are poised for raises in July 2013. During collective bargaining in 2010, Brown’s predecessor, Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed to raises of 2 percent to 5 percent for workers at the top of their pay scales in return for concessions.
“Unions don’t exist to solve the state’s problems,” said Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger’s former press secretary. “They exist to get the best deal for their members, and in California, they’re really good at what they do.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Michael B. Marois in Sacramento at mmarois@bloomberg.net; James Nash in Los Angeles at jnash24@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Merelman at smerelman@bloomberg.net
Source: www.bloomberg.com
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