September 12, 2011 |
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Bill Wonders if Washington is Competitive
Someone sends me the little Redbook each year, that measures key indicators of Washington state’s business climate. The data is a few years old, but the following items did pop out to me, somewhat to my dismay: (a) 13th largest population (2008); (b) 12th in net in migration; (c) 4th in exports per capita; (d) 6th in highest gas taxes; (e) 7th in state and local government employment; (f) 3rd in public employees salaries (California & New Jersey are the first two); (g) 4th in union membership as a share of employment; (h) 2nd in unemployment insurance taxes; (i) 1st in state minimum wage; (j) 8th in estimated public school spending per pupil; (k) 20th in national assessment of educational progress – 8th grade math; (l) 34th in home ownership rate; (m) 7th in Wharton Residential Land Use Regulatory Index.
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Sarah ‘Krebsy’ Adams Sees August Numbers
August's pending sales in the 4-County region are up 31.5 percent over last year and showing the highest pending numbers in August since 2006, according to the most recent NWMLS report. President of Windermere Real Estate, OB Jacobi says, "For the first time in a long time, I can say with confidence that that things feel better." Inventory has also fallen from a year ago. J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate says, "With a low level of home inventory for sale and historically low interest rates, we are seeing a healthy volume of sales activity causing multiple offers." Selling prices are still down from the previous year by about 12.4 percent.
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