Manufacturing Grows At A Rapid Pace In The United States And In The Triangle Area

Manufacturing in the United States grew at the fastest pace seen in the last seven years last month, and the Triangle area also saw an increase in manufacturing.  However, with the sudden rise in the price of raw materials there is some concern that it could threaten profits.

According to the Institute for Supply Management, it reported that the index of manufacturing activity rose to 61.4 percent in February; which was up from 60.8 percent in January. The last time this index saw numbers this high was in May of 2004. The index reached its lowest level in 30 years in December of 2008 with a level of 33.3. Any level above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing industry. Many economists agree that the recession ended in June of 2009 and since that time factories have rebounded across America.

The Triangle area also saw an increase in manufacturing over the past year. Manufacturing jobs in the Triangle area grew by 3.5 percent according to the North Carolina Manufacturers Register. The Triangle area makes up only 4 percent of the state of North Carolina’s manufacturing work force.

The Triangle area is booming and now is the time to get in on the action. If you are looking to buy or sell a home in the Triangle area, contact Rodney Geohagan. The Geo Team is here to help you with all of your real estate needs. Rodney Geohagan is a certified distressed property expert who has the experience to help you sell your home and is qualified to help you with all options before it is too late. There are a lot of questions about how the short sale process works and whether a homeowner would be better off selling short or signing over their deed in lieu of foreclosure. Rodney has the answer and would love to sit down for a confidential review of your options.

Consumer Confidence Rises In The Triangle Area

Last month consumer confidence soared across America, and in the Triangle area,  to the highest level seen in the past three years.  This means that Americans are more confident about where the economy is now and where it is headed.

The conference board measures consumer confidence on a monthly basis, and in the month of February, consumer confidence climbed 5.6 points to 70.4. Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center had to this to say about the increase, "The Consumer Confidence Index is now at a three-year high, due to growing optimism about the short-term future. Consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions has improved moderately, but still remains rather weak.”

The consumer index asked 5,000 individuals in a survey about how each felt in regards to the current economic conditions, and those that claimed that conditions were “good” went up 12.4 percent in February which is up from 11.3 percent in January.  Among the many questions asked on the survey, one focused on the availability of jobs and those that felt that jobs were “plentiful” increased to 4.9 percent in February; up from 4.6 percent in January.

Consumer confidence does have an impact on the housing market. Triangle residents who are confident in the economy and feel stable with their jobs are more likely to purchase or sell a home in the Triangle area. Now is the best time to buy a home with mortgage rates still at an all time low and while home prices are as affordable as ever.

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in the Triangle area, contact Rodney Geohagan. The Geo Team is here to help you with all of your real estate needs. Rodney Geohagan is a certified distressed property expert who has the experience to help you sell your home and is qualified to help you with all options before it is too late. There are a lot of questions about how the short sale process works and whether a homeowner would be better off selling short or signing over their deed in lieu of foreclosure. Rodney has the answer and would love to sit down for a confidential review of your options.

The Economy is Picking up Pace. Will Triangle Home Sales Follow?

The economy is slowly picking up pace and home sales in the Triangle area will hopefully soon follow its lead. The month of January showed that home sales in the Triangle area were slightly down for the month. Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties had a total of 862 homes sold in January, which is down 2 percent from the same time compared to a year ago, as reported by the Triangle Multiple Listing Service.

This time a year ago, the government was offering the home buyers tax credit which helped in the home selling process. Stacey Anfindsen, a Cary appraiser who analyzes MLS data for the Triangle area, had this to say in regards to data we are seeing now compared to last year. "It's probably going to take a full year to get the incentives out of the system, and during that time the comparisons are going to be terrible.”

Mortgage interest rates are still at historically low numbers but are also slowly starting to increase. This increase could cause home sales to rise as those potential home buyers that are on the fence about purchasing a home in the Triangle area, may take the plunge now to avoid having a higher interest rate that is to come in the next few months.

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in the Triangle area, contact Rodney Geohagan. The Geo Team is here to help you with all of your real estate needs. Rodney Geohagan is a certified distressed property expert who has the experience to help you sell your home and is qualified to help you with all options before it is too late. There are a lot of questions about how the short sale process works and whether a homeowner would be better off selling short or signing over their deed in lieu of foreclosure. Rodney has the answer and would love to sit down for a confidential review of your options.

North Carolina Saw Unemployed Workers Decrease In 2010

Thirty one out of the 50 states saw an increase in unemployment rates last year; but the good news is North Carolina was not one of them. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that Tar Heel State’s unemployment actually decreased by 14,000 workers last year. South Carolina also fared well like North Carolina with seeing a decrease in unemployment. In 2010, South Carolina dropped 5,000 unemployed workers last year.

The state of North Carolina had an average of 476,000 unemployed residents last year, and an average unemployment rate of 10.6 percent.  South Carolina had 242,000 residents that were unemployed throughout the year and the average unemployment rate was 11.2 percent. The Charlotte metro area unemployment rate fell to 10.7 percent in December of 2010 which was down from November’s unemployment rate of 11 percent. The state of North Carolina as a whole also saw unemployment rates drop from 9.9 percent in November to 9.7 percent in December.

It is great news that the Triangle Area is faring better than other parts of the country when it comes to unemployed workers. The Triangle area saw unemployment rates dip to 7.7 percent in

December which is down slightly from the 7.9 percent in November.  The Raleigh-Cary area added a net of 200 new jobs in the past year.  The Durham-Chapel Hill area had an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent in December down from 7.2 percent the month prior.

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in the Triangle area contact Rodney Geohagan. The Geo Team is here to help you with all of your real estate needs. Rodney Geohagan is a certified distressed property expert who has the experience to help you sell your home and is qualified to help you with all options before it is too late. There are a lot of questions about how the short sale process works and whether a homeowner would be better off selling short or signing over their deed in lieu of foreclosure. Rodney has the answer and would love to sit down for a confidential review of your options.