The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.1 percent in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, after increasing 0.4 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 4.0 percent before seasonal adjustment. The index for shelter was the largest contributor to the monthly all items … [More]
U.S. Home Borrowers See First Annual Home Equity Losses since 2012 in Q1 2023, but Overall Mortgage Performance Remains Strong
CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, released the Homeowner Equity Report (HER) for the first quarter of 2023. The report shows that U.S. homeowners with mortgages (which account for roughly 63% of all properties) saw home equity decrease by 0.7% year over year, representing a collective loss of $108.4 billion, and an … [More]
Asking Rents Fall 2% in the West, Phoenix Rents Falling after Pandemic Peaks
The median U.S. asking rent fell 0.6% year over year to $1,995 in May—the largest annual decline since March 2020—according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That compares with a near-record 16.5% increase one year earlier. May’s drop also represented the first annual decline since March 2020 on a revised basis. The median … [More]
Supply Shortage Worsens, Propping Up Prices as Phoenix Home-Sale Prices Decline 7.9%
New listings of homes for sale fell 25% year over year to their lowest level of any early June on record. That’s according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage, which analyzed new listings of homes for sale during the four weeks ending June 4. The continued lack of new listings has pushed the total number of homes on the market down 5% … [More]
Phoenix Is the Top Metro for Build-to-Rent Construction
Single-family rentals are booming across the U.S., with 45,000 new homes for rent built in the last 5 years. Out of these, an all-time high of 14,541 new homes were completed in 2022 alone — and this trend isn’t showing signs of slowing down one bit. Our new build-to-rent report maps the construction of build-to-rent communities (BTR) throughout 100 U.S. metros and offers a … [More]
Mortgage Rates Are Up, Homes Sales Are Down, As Prices Remain Resilient
Pending home sales fell 17% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending May 28, one of the biggest declines since the start of the year. That’s according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That year-over-year drop is especially notable because pending sales had already started falling at this time last year as mortgage rates … [More]
Research Reveals a Single Microbusiness Creates Nearly 7 Local Jobs, Reveals Study
According to new research from GoDaddy and UCLA, the U.S. cities with the most microbusiness activity during the fourth quarter of 2022 are San Jose, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Denver, San Diego, and Austin. At the national level, the GoDaddy/UCLA Anderson Forecast Microbusiness Activity Index (MAI) shows that overall microbusiness activity declined slightly after peaking … [More]
Arizona Has the 10th Best State Economy, Says Report
With California on track to overtake Germany as the world’s fourth largest economy, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2023’s Best & Worst State Economies, as well as expert commentary. In order to determine America’s top economic performers, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 key indicators of economic … [More]
82% of Surveyed Hotels Report Staffing Shortages, According to National Survey
As over 80% of hotels experience staffing shortages, hoteliers are offering potential hires a host of incentives to fill vacancies, according to a new survey of hoteliers conducted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA). Seventy-five percent of respondents are increasing wages, 64% are offering greater flexibility with hours, and 36% are expanding benefits – … [More]
U.S. Employers Added 339,000 Jobs in May, Defying Expectations of a Slowdown
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 339,000 in May, and the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage point to 3.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in professional and business services, government, health care, construction, transportation and warehousing, and social assistance. This news release presents … [More]
Small Businesses Have Record High Levels of Job Openings Despite Struggle to Find Qualified Workers
According to NFIB’s monthly jobs report, 44% (seasonally adjusted) of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, down one point from April but still 20 points higher than the 49-year average reading. The percent of owners reporting labor quality as their top small business operating problem remains elevated at 24% and 10% of owners reported … [More]
Home Price Gains Slow to Lowest Rate on Record in May, Says Realtor.com
Home prices rose slightly in May, but price growth slowed to the lowest rate on record since 2016, suggesting home prices may not see a new peak in 2023, according to the Realtor.com Monthly Housing Trends Report released today. Additionally, home inventory growth continues to slow and is declining in many metro areas across the country as fewer sellers list their homes than … [More]
Investor Home Purchases Fell a Record 49% YOY in the First Quarter, Says Report
Real estate investors purchased 48.6% fewer homes in the first quarter of 2023 than they did a year earlier as elevated interest rates along with declining rents and housing values ate into potential profits, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That’s the largest annual decline on record, and outpaced the 40.7% drop in … [More]
Overall U.S. Mortgage Delinquency Rate Drops to All-Time Low in March, Says Report
CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its monthly Loan Performance Insights Report for March 2023. For the month of March, 2.6% of all mortgages in the U.S. were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure), representing a 0.3 percentage point decrease … [More]
Small Business Jobs Growth Holds Steady in May
The rate of small business job growth was unchanged from April for the month of May, according to the latest Paychex | IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch. The national Small Business Jobs Index — which measures the rate of small business job growth in the U.S. — stands at 99.45, a 0.04% decrease from April. Meanwhile, hourly earnings growth for U.S. workers slowed to … [More]
Tourism & Taxation: How the Bed Tax and Major Events Benefit Business
Valley of the Sun as a hot destination
“As Greater Phoenix continues to evolve, the visitor industry for our destination continues to grow,” says Eric Kerr, vice president of Insights and Development for the convention and visitor bureau Visit Phoenix. He cites the fact that, since 2020, 46 new hotel properties have opened in the region with more than 7,600 hotel rooms. Additionally, Sky Harbor International Airport … [More]
Lisa Urias, Arizona Office of Tourism
Tourism: A Critical Economic Driver
Arizona is seeing a population surge as people continue to choose our state as their home. But our popularity as a visitor destination is equally robust, with Maricopa County offering one of the strongest pipelines of new hotels and resorts in the country. The Arizona Office of Tourism and other Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) such as Visit Phoenix, Experience … [More]
Thinking of Selling Your Business?
Key steps for Arizona business owners to take
Baby boomers own approximately 40% of privately-owned small businesses and franchises in the U.S., according to MBAStack. Gen X-ers own the highest percentage of small businesses at 46%, and their relative share is increasing. With boomers already in or reaching retirement age, and Gen X only 12 to 15 years behind that, many business owners are considering selling their … [More]
