NEW YORK-- The housing recovery blossomed in September, as the pace of home building surged to a four-year high, according to a government report issued Wednesday.
Builders started work at an annual pace of 872,000 homes last month, up 15% from the pace in August. They also filed for permits to build homes at an annual rate of 894,000, up 11.6% from the previous month. Both readings were the best since the summer of 2008, before the meltdown in financial markets that caused home lending and building to freeze up.
But mortgage rates are now near record lows, and the Federal Reserve's decision to buy $40 billion in mortgages every month is likely to keep rates low for the foreseeable future. The low mortgage rates, coupled with affordable housing prices and a drop in unemployment have helped to restart home sales.
Home building surges to 4-year high
October 17, 2012 in Articles
Author: Chris IsidorePublication: CNN Money
Meals and lodging sales post big increases in August
October 13, 2012 in Articles
Author: Whit RichardsonPublication: Bangor Daily News
AUGUSTA — After a worrying July, August’s taxable sales figures in tourism-related sectors beat projections and capped a strong summer tourism season, according to figures released Friday by Maine Revenue Services.
Lodging sales in August were $157 million, up 7.5 percent from the same month last year, while August restaurant sales equaled nearly $270 million, representing a 6.1-percent year-over-year increase. For the three-month period from June to August, lodging sales were up 7.4 percent and restaurant sales were up 5.3 percent compared to the same three-month period in 2011. “Those are good solid numbers,” Michael Allen, associate commissioner for tax policy at Maine Revenue Services, told the Bangor Daily News.
Lodging sales in August were $157 million, up 7.5 percent from the same month last year, while August restaurant sales equaled nearly $270 million, representing a 6.1-percent year-over-year increase. For the three-month period from June to August, lodging sales were up 7.4 percent and restaurant sales were up 5.3 percent compared to the same three-month period in 2011. “Those are good solid numbers,” Michael Allen, associate commissioner for tax policy at Maine Revenue Services, told the Bangor Daily News.
Economists: Housing recovery finally here
October 3, 2012 in Articles
Author: Chris IsidorePublication: CNN Money
NEW YORK -- It's been a long time coming, but economists surveyed by CNNMoney believe the nation's housing market has finally turned the corner.
Of the 14 economists who answered questions about home prices in the survey, nine believe that prices have already turned higher or will make that turn later this year. Only three months ago, half of the economists surveyed by CNNMoney believed a turnaround in prices would not take place until 2013 or later.
Economists have been encouraged by a variety of readings, including three straight months of increases in the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, a pick-up in sales of existing homes and home construction and a big jump in the price of new home sales.
Mortgage rates are also likely to remain near record lows thanks to the Federal Reserve's purchase of $40 billion in mortgages a month for the foreseeable future.
Pretty? Route 1? Yarmouth gets ideas
September 26, 2012 in Articles
Author: Kelley BouchardPublication: Portland Press Herald
Visions of a transformed commercial corridor are culled from a series of brainstorming sessions.
Yarmouth is considering ambitious zoning changes that would extend the quaint village character of the town's historic Main Street to its Route 1 commercial corridor.
Brainstorming sessions by Yarmouth residents led to a vision of Route 1 as a pleasant, tree-lined boulevard. The sessions sought input for new zoning in the commercial corridor.
Recent community brainstorming sessions produced a vision for development along the highway that includes the possibility of removing the Route 1 bridge over Main Street and the East Main Street bridge over Route 1. In the decades ahead, proponents say, Route 1 would evolve into a relaxed boulevard with a grassy, tree-lined median, inviting sidewalks and side streets, and a direct connection to Main Street.
Bayside project financing deal OK'd
September 20, 2012 in Articles
Author: Dennis HoeyPublication: Portland Press Herald-Maine Today
Portland agrees to spend millions on a $38 million project that would include hundreds of apartments.
PORTLAND - The Portland City Council voted Wednesday night to help subsidize an out-of-state developer's plans to build a $38 million mixed-used project in the Bayside neighborhood.
The final vote on the Maritime Landing development financing plan was 8-1 with councilor Cheryl Leeman opposed.
Leeman said she supported the project because it would bring hundreds of new residents to Bayside, but said she had issues with the way the parking garage component would be paid for.
Under the agreement, the city would sell 3.25 acres of land off Somerset Street to the Federated Companies for $2.2 million.
The city would also provide Federated, which has offices in Miami and Boston, with a $9.07 million grant to help it pay for construction of a $15 million, 700-space parking garage.