Florida on economic rebound!

Highlights from Economic Outlook 2012

“When you can’t make them see the light, make them feel the heat.”
Ronald Reagan

Things are really heating up and we’re not just talking about warmer temperatures. There is a lot more to get excited about in the Sunshine State besides the beautiful weather. Take a look at some highlights from “Economic Outlook: May 2012” compiled by Wells Fargo Securities.

· More businesses are expanding their operations or relocating facilities to the state.

· The shadow inventory of homes is gradually being whittled away, and prices for non-distressed properties have firmed up a bit.

· The gap between Florida’s unemployment rate and the nation’s continues to narrow, suggesting that Florida’s economy is now growing faster than the nation.

· According to a recent study by the National Association of Realtors, Florida has the highest concentration of foreign buyers of any state, with buyers from other countries accounting for 31 percent of all sales in 2011. These foreign investors are primarily from Canada, Venezuela, and Brazil.

· There is a clear return of retiree buyers around the state with Florida seeing the second-largest state-to-state gain in the country.

· Hiring has picked up across the state, with private-sector employers adding 195,700 jobs since employment bottomed in December 2009. The unemployment rate has fallen 2.4 percentage points over roughly this same period, falling to 9.0 percent

· Tampa’s labor market continues to post strong gains. The professional and business services sector remains the top performing sector, accounting for more than 50 percent of the jobs added since the Bay area’s labor market bottomed,

· Home prices appear to have bottomed in Tampa. Data from Trulia shows that the median sales price for existing homes in the Tampa region have increased by more than 10 percent over year-ago levels.

· Tampa Bay appears poised for stronger gains. Tourism continues to grow solidly and the opening of the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg last year continues to win widespread acclaim.

According to Senior Economist Mark Vitner and Economic Analyst Joe Seydl and at Wells Fargo, when we review all of the materials that we look at to assess the health of Florida’s economy, it is difficult not to come away encouraged. Florida is now firmly in recovery mode following one of the worst recessions in its modern history. The actions taken by businesses and governments to help promote economic activity and make Florida more competitive with other states are beginning to pay real dividends and will truly show their worth once the national economy ramps up again.

As reported by Dewey Allen, Prudential Tropical Realty, Palm Harbor, Fl.