Northwest Florida Employment
by Michael Scheibe, MBA
The unemployment rate for the Northwest Florida region in the second quarter of 2008 was 1.1 percent higher than it was in the second quarter of 2007. The unemployment rate identifies the percentage of people in the labor force that are seeking a job but do not have one. The labor force is the sum of those employed and unemployed, but it does not include the jobless who are not seeking employment such as full-time students                                                    and retirees.   More »

Second Quarter Bed Tax Numbers Indicate Modest Regional Growth
by Melissa Neal, PhD
During the second quarter of 2008, Northwest Florida bed tax collections increased a very modest 2.96% over the same time period in 2007. Overall collections for the Northwest Florida region (at a 2% rate) were $6.4 million from April 2008 – June 2008. Although collections are not increasing at the rates we have seen in the past, our forecast shows that bed taxes will continue to increase slowly over the next 12 months.  More »

Northwest Florida Retail Sales
by Michael Scheibe, MBA
The Northwest Florida region’s retail sales totaled almost $4.2 billion in the first quarter of 2008, down 7.3 percent from the previous year. According to the Census Bureau, the retail sales figures for the nation increased 3.7 percent over the same period. The retail sales in the region are measured according to data on taxable retail sales that is collected and distributed by the Florida Department of Revenue.  
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Housing Affordability
by Anita Remesch, BS
In the second quarter of 2008, housing affordability decreased due to increases in mortgage interest rates and median home prices. The largest decrease was felt in the Fort Walton Beach MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) with a 16.8 percent decrease in housing affordability. The Pensacola MSA decreased 9.4 percent and the Panama City MSA decreased 5.8 percent. On the national level, housing affordability decreased 6.1 percent.                                                    More »

Northwest Florida Real Estate Activity
by David Kane, BS
The second quarter of 2008 was no more encouraging than the first for real estate activity in NW Florida. Overall, residential real estate activity for the region is now down to levels not seen since early in 1995. For the five-county region total home sales were down by an average of nearly 28 percent compared to the second quarter of 2007 – the same rate of decline as the first quarter. This time, however, the downturn in NW Florida was more severe than the rest of the state over all. According to the Florida Association of Realtors survey of MLS sales data within the twenty Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA’s) that comprise the state, sales of existing single-family homes were down by 6 percent compared to last year. But for the three MSA’s that comprise the NW Florida region alone, sales of existing single-family homes declined by an average of 20.3 percent. On the other hand, over the same time period the median sales price of an existing single-family home declined by 16 percent for the state, compared to a decline of only 3 percent in NW Florida.   More »