Florida Consumer Confidence Up

The University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research reports that Florida consumer confidence rose to 74 in January, a five point increase over December's survey.  Increases were reported in all five components of the survey: personal finances over the past year, personal finances expectations over the coming year, U.S. economic conditions over the coming year, U.S. business conditions over next the five years, and perceptions of whether it is a good time to buy big-ticket items rose the highest of all five.  Concurrently,  The Conference Board reported its national survey indicated a more modest increase in the Consumer Expectations Index to 76.5 from 75.9 in December.

Costa Rica Third

The annual 2010 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) moved Costa Rica up to third behind Iceland and Switzerland out of 163 countries worldwide. The United States placed 61st.and CR neighbors Nicaragua and Panama were ranked 93rd and 24th respectively.

Exciting New Assignments

Parker Associates is pleased to report that assignments for analyzing and positioning truly interesting land use concepts are once again being transmitted to us.  If our phone is any indicator of developer confidence in the near future, we expect "business as usual" to return at an early date.

Morgan Stanley Projects Growth

Economists from Morgan Stanley project the U.S. Gross Domestic product will rise to 3.5 percent growth in each of the second and third quarters of 2010 compared to negative growth a year ago.  The company's January report added that property values have bottomed and opportunities are growing for distressed investment. They visualize gradual relaxation of bank lending standards and strong growth in U.S. exports and earnings lending support to the GDP growth. 

Small Is Beautiful The increasing movement toward smaller homes has gained in popularity throughout the nation.  NAHB' s Consumer Preferences 2010 reports a huge 96% of surveyed builders indicated they would build smaller houses in 2010, in direct response to the consumer survey

Photo Courtesy of James Wentling House Plans Contact at jameswentling@jameswentlinghouseplans.com

     The more efficient use of space in a new home demands better design and materials as well as carefully selected furnishings.  Such attention to value is likely to become desirable as an appealing trend that implies new directions for the home building industry.

     Advance copies of Dr. Parker's article entitled "Small Is Beautiful" were sent to this mailing list in January.  If you would like a copy, please contact david@parkerassociates.com.

www.parkerassociates.com for more information

Peak Earning Power Down

American Consumers Newsletter reports that the age 45-54 peak earning group has suffered a decline in real median income over the past 30 years with men's annual median  income falling from $61,698 in 1978 to $53,331 in 2008 (in 2008 dollars).  At the same time, the increase of women into the workforce has kept the median annual household income relatively stable at $64,349 in 2008 compared to $64,152 in 1978.

     Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren correlates this lack of real income growth to the reduction in government regulation over the past 30 years.  But much-discussed reform, she argues, is stymied by politicians beholden to the financial services industry and the attitudes of peak earners in the 45-54 peak earners' group.  According to the 2008 General Social Survey, 62 percent of persons in this age category believe their standard of living is better than their parents was at the same age.  They appear oblivious to the deterioration of incomes over the past 30 years. 

If you wish to be removed from receiving further emails from Parker Associates and its affiliates, please click on the Manage Your Subscription link below and choose to unsubscribe.