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| Florida jobless rate could remain high until 2018
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| Florida will have a long slog out of the recession that is plaguing the nation, with the Sunshine State not returning to its more traditional unemployment levels until 2018, a well-known economist predicted Tuesday. In his 30-year economic forecast, the University of Central Florida's Sean Snaith said that it will take the next nine years for Florida to return to its 2008 unemployment rate of 6 percent.
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| @ Sarasota Herald Tribune | Posted: 06/24/09 at 0201 EDST
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| Housing market in Bradenton continues to fall
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| Sales of existing single-family homes rose 16 percent statewide in May, it fell by 10 percent in the Sarasota-Bradenton market, the Florida Association of Realtors reported. Sarasota-Bradenton was among six Florida markets to see a sales decline in May compared to May 2008.
The local median sales price — the point where half sold for more, half for less — slipped to $156,600 last month, down 36 percent from the same month a year ago. The statewide drop averaged 29 percent, to $144,400.
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| @ Bradenton Herald | Posted: 06/24/09 at 0315 EDST
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| Home sales in May rise 47 percent in Broward; 5 percent in Palm Beach County
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| Home prices keep tumbling in South Florida, bringing out buyers looking for deals and steals. Broward County's median price for existing homes in May was $190,000, down 36 percent from $296,800 a year ago, the Florida Association of Realtors said Tuesday. Sales shot up 47 percent, to 780 from 530 last year, the 11th consecutive increase. In Palm Beach County, the median price was $232,900, down 30 percent from $330,900 a year ago. Sales rose 5 percent, to 737 from 702 last year, the 10th such increase in the past 11 months.
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| @ Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel | Posted: 06/24/09 at 0320 EDST
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| Home sales still on the rise in Lee County
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| May sales of existing single-family homes in Lee County continued at a near-record pace while prices spiked up, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Florida Association of Realtors. The median price rose to $88,500, up 3.5 percent or $3,000 from April’s $85,500. But prices remained less than half what they were after the precipitous drop of the past year — the median was $212,400 in May 2008. There were 1,417 existing houses sold with the assistance of a Realtor — down from April’s record 1,468 but up sharply from the 823 sold in May 2008, according to the association.
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| @ Ft. Myers News Press
| Posted: 06/24/09 at 0330 EDST
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| Bottom for home prices? Not yet in Palm Beach
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| Palm Beach County home prices dipped slightly in May, a sign that the region's still-shaky housing market has yet to hit bottom. Sales volumes held steady in Palm Beach County and spiked in the Treasure Coast, the Florida Association of Realtors said Tuesday. But the median price of an existing single-family home in Palm Beach County fell to $232,900, down from $234,400 in April and off 30 percent from a year ago. The number of sales totaled 737, unchanged from April and up 5 percent from May 2008.
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| @ Palm Beach Post | Posted: 06/24/09 at 0345 EDST
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| A hint of firmness in May prices for homes in Orlando
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| In Metro Orlando, the median price for resales in the four-county area was $142,400, up slightly from April but down about one-third from a year ago. The local condominium market had a 206 percent jump in May sales, by far the biggest gain in the state, but with the second-lowest median price of any metro area in the state — $49,600, a 60 percent drop from May 2008
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| @ Orlando Sentinel | Posted: 06/24/09 at 0400 EDST
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| Tampa Bay area home sales dip in May, but prices rebound
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| After rallying for eight straight months, Tampa Bay home sales stumbled in May. Single-family home sales totaled 2,243, down 1.2 percent from the 2,270 sales recorded in May 2008, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. It's also fewer than the 2,326 home closings in April. But on the home price front, the trajectory has been positive. In May, Tampa Bay's median home sales price reached its 2009 peak. It rose to $141,100, up from $135,200 in April.
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| @ St. Petersburg Times | Posted: 06/24/09 at 0415 EDST
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| Florida’s existing home, condo sales up in May 2009
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| Florida’s existing home sales rose in May – the ninth month in a row that sales activity increased in the year-to-year comparison. Statewide sales showed gains over the previous month’s sales level in both the existing home and existing condominium markets. Also, for the first time in many months, the statewide median sales price in May for existing homes and for existing condos rose over the previous month’s figure. Existing home sales rose 16 percent last month with a total of 13,921 homes sold statewide compared to 12,044 homes sold in May 2008, according to FAR. Statewide existing home sales in May increased 6.2 percent over April’s statewide activity. Florida Realtors also reported a 21 percent rise in statewide sales of existing condos in May; existing condo sales last month rose 3.8 percent over the total units sold in April.
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| @ Florida Association of Realtors | Posted: 06/24/09 at 0419 EDST
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| America’s 15 Most Recession-Resistant Cities
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| Some cities have been hit much harder than others during the recession. Cities in California, Florida and Michigan, for instance, have been particularly hard hit, while others have seen their economy grow. In a recent Brookings Institution study, researchers gathered key economic statistics about the 100 largest US metro areas, including employment, home values and Gross Metropolitan Product (GMP). Among the surprising results — 38 metro areas recorded an increase in home values, even though the national average declined 6%. So, what are America’s most recession-resistant cities? Click ahead to find out!
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| @ CNBC | Posted: 06/24/09 at 0646 EDST
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| Russian Stimulus ‘Delay’ Means GDP to Shrink 6.8%, OECD Says
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| The Paris-based OECD’s March Russian report forecast the economy to shrink 5.6 percent. The World Bank said on June 22 that Russia’s contraction would deepen to 7.5 percent this year, compared with 4.5 percent in its previous forecast. The economy of the world’s biggest energy exporter shrank an annual 9.8 percent in the first quarter, the steepest decline in 15 years, as companies struggled to raise funds and falling incomes crimped consumer demand. Industrial production shrank a record annual 17.1 percent in May.
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| @ Bloomberg News | Posted: 06/24/09 at 0652 EDST
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| Lending to UK businesses slips
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| Bank lending to private sector businesses slipped in May, although loans to public sector bodies offset falling corporate lending, according to the latest figures from the British Bankers’ Association. The BBA said lending to non-financial companies grew £100m in May but that was accounted for by a surge of £300m in lending to public and quasi-public sector bodies such as social security offices, and public law and order bodies.
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| @ Financial Times - UK | Posted: 06/24/09 at 0655 EDST
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