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Current Economic Conditions FirstBank Brentwood Country Club. David A. Penn Director, Business and Economic Research Center Jennings A. Jones College of Business Middle Tennessee State University dpenn@mtsu.edu 615-904-8571 September 13, 2007. Economic Indicators. Unemployment Job growth
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Current Economic ConditionsFirstBankBrentwood Country Club David A. Penn Director, Business and Economic Research Center Jennings A. Jones College of Business Middle Tennessee State University dpenn@mtsu.edu 615-904-8571 September 13, 2007 Business and Economic Research Center
Economic Indicators • Unemployment • Job growth • Taxable sales • Housing construction Business and Economic Research Center
Unemployment July 2007 • U. S.: 4.6% (steady) • Tennessee: 4.1% (falling) • Nashville MSA: 3.4 % (falling) Business and Economic Research Center
Nashville MSA Unemployment Rate Business and Economic Research Center
Nonfarm job growth is slowing (yty percent change) • U. S.: 1.3% (drifting lower) • Tennessee: 0.8% (steady) • Nashville MSA: 1.2% (slowing) Business and Economic Research Center
Job growth in Tennessee(yty percent change) Business and Economic Research Center
Nashville MSA Job Growth (yty percent change) Business and Economic Research Center
Manufacturing employment growthNashville MSA Business and Economic Research Center
Construction employment growthNashville MSA Business and Economic Research Center
Nashville MSA labor market conditions • Recap: • Unemployment rate very low. • Overall payroll employment growth tepid. • Manufacturing job losses are a drag on overall employment. • Construction employment still robust. Business and Economic Research Center
Taxable sales Nashville MSA – showing some weakness Business and Economic Research Center
Housing construction and real estate • Home sales and construction down from last year. • Boom spurred by low mortgage rates, rapidly rising home prices. Business and Economic Research Center
Permits issued for new houses U.S. Business and Economic Research Center
Housing construction and real estate • Rising home prices were a major source of retail spending since the 2001 recession. • Households cashed out $1 trillion in home equity during the boom. • How much was spent for consumption? Analysts don’t agree on this. • A reduction in housing wealth will cause spending to slow to some degree. Business and Economic Research Center
Housing construction and real estate • Housing construction decline cut 1 point from GDP growth second half 2006. • Decline of this magnitude usually precedes a recession. • But not this time? Business and Economic Research Center
Nashville home building permits Business and Economic Research Center
Building permits growth 2nd Quarter Business and Economic Research Center
Single-family permits by countySecond Quarter Growth Business and Economic Research Center
Unsold inventory of homes rising in the Nashville area (August) Business and Economic Research Center
Home prices and growing inventory in the Nashville area (August) Business and Economic Research Center
Existing homes price index - OFHEO • U.S. and Nashville homes price trends. Business and Economic Research Center
OFHEO existing homes price index – yty growth rate Business and Economic Research Center
Housing and Real Estate • What factors determine the demand for new housing? • Household formation, • Mortgage rates, • Income growth, • Investor and vacation home demand, • Household confidence, • Prices of new homes, and • Availability of credit. Business and Economic Research Center
Nashville MSA population growth Business and Economic Research Center
Supply of new housing • Building permits is our measure of new housing supply. • A permit typically precedes construction completion by about 8 months. • 15,700 new housing units expected for 2007. • Down 3% from 2006. Business and Economic Research Center
Other sources of demand • Household formation is the primary, but not the only, source of demand for new houses. • Other sources of demand include: • Demand for second homes and vacation homes. • Demand for investment homes and speculative investment. • Investment and vacation homes were 36% of demand in 2005 for the U.S. • Share dropped to 29% in 2006. Business and Economic Research Center
Mortgage rates • Mortgage rates are very low. • Rate is 6.6% for August, near a 37 year low. Business and Economic Research Center
Mortgage rates and capital flows • World savings glut: foreign capital inflow keeps our mortgage rates low. • Capital inflow is a direct result of our large trade deficits, largely with China. • As China’s consumer sector grows, they will absorb more savings in capital investment. • This will cause smaller trade deficits for the U.S., but also less savings inflow and higher interest rates in the long term. Business and Economic Research Center
Mortgage rates • Housing construction slumps tend to be preceded by climbing mortgage rates. • But not this time. Fed tightening has had little effect on mortgage rates until very recently. Business and Economic Research Center
Housing affordability • Affordability suffering in the U.S. housing market compared with Nashville. Business and Economic Research Center
Income growth • Nashville MSA: Family incomes not keeping up with home prices. • Median family income rose 6.6% 2004-06 • Median price of home up 13.7% Business and Economic Research Center
Comparative affordability • Affordability has slipped in Nashville, but much more in the U.S. Business and Economic Research Center
Housing Construction • Important factors: • Household formation, • Mortgage rates, • Income growth, • Investor and vacation home demand, • Consumer confidence, • Prices of new homes, and • Availability of credit. Business and Economic Research Center
Subprime mortgages - Tennessee Business and Economic Research Center
Tennessee –disproportionate growth in subprime mortgages Business and Economic Research Center
Tennessee – tightened credit and new home construction Business and Economic Research Center
Conclusions • Payroll employment growth may soften more, with some recovery by the end of the year. • Some time will be needed for the economy to digest the job losses in manufacturing and finance. • Unemployment rates still very low. • Taxable sales sputtering, but may firm. • My view: recession is unlikely in the near future. Business and Economic Research Center
Business and Economic Research Centerwww.mtsu.edu/~berc • Annual Outlook Conference Sept. 28 • Publications • Tennessee’s Business • Global Commerce • Midstate Economic Indicators Business and Economic Research Center
Business and Economic Research Center • Studies • Economic Impact of Higher Education • Economic Impact of the Healthcare Industry • Retail and food services trends for Rutherford County • Assessment of Needs for the Williamson County United Way Business and Economic Research Center