Rates rise, Consumer Confidence up.

Interest rates rise again ... The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point to 4.7%. It`s the 15th consecutive rate hike since the cycle began in June of 2004. The increases are designed to keep inflation at bay.

Economists are looking for signs in the upcoming Fed statement that will give an idea as to when rate rises will end. Some economists speculate that we will be in for one more rate rise and that will be it for 2006 - one more rate rise should be enough to cause a drop in housing starts and control inflation.

This is the first interest rate action under new Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke since he took over from Alan Greenspan.

The interest rate hike comes the same day that the Consumer Confidence Index hit a nearly four-year high to reach 107.2 which is almost 5 points higher than last month. The Consumer Confidence Index is based on a survey of a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The monthly survey is conducted for The Conference Board by TNS. TNS is the world's largest custom research company. The cutoff date for March's preliminary results was March 21st.

"This month's gain in Consumer Confidence has pushed the Index to a near four-year high (May 2002, 110.3)," says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "The improvement in consumers' assessment of present-day conditions is yet another sign that the economy gained steam in early 2006. Consumer expectations, while improved, remain subdued and still suggest a cooling in activity in the latter half of this year."

Consumers' overall assessment of current conditions remains favorable. Those claiming conditions are "good" rose to 28.3 percent from 26.4 percent. Those claiming conditions are "bad" declined to 14.7 percent from 15.4 percent. Labor market conditions, however, remained mixed. Consumers saying jobs are "plentiful" increased to 28.4 percent from 27.4 percent, while those claiming jobs are "hard to get" moved up to 20.7 percent from 20.2 percent.

Consumers' outlook for the next six months improved moderately in March. Consumers expecting business conditions to worsen decreased to 9.9 percent from 10.9 percent, while consumers expecting business conditions to improve increased to 18.0 percent from 16.2 percent.

The outlook for the labor market was also more positive. Those expecting fewer jobs to become available in the coming months decreased to 16.6 percent from 19.9 percent in February, while those expecting more jobs edged up to 13.9 percent from 13.4 percent. The proportion of consumers anticipating their incomes to increase in the months ahead held steady at 18.8 percent.

Source: March 2006 Consumer Confidence Index, The Conference Board.

Part II: Retail and Commercial Development in Palmdale

This is a continuation of February 17th blog entry.

Palmdale residents have an average household income of $73,027, and the discretionary income to attract new retail and restaurant chains and sole proprieterships. Opening this year, we have Wickes Furniture Store at the crossroads of Rancho Vista Blvd. and 10th Street West, an Original Tommy's Hamburger just off the 14 freeway at the Rancho Vista Blvd. exit, and a Hampton Inn in the Lowes/Target shopping center. A Super Wal-Mart opened in August 2005. Wal-Mart will be joined by seven major stores, a Jo-Ann Fabrics and Craft store plus 10 smaller outlet stores.

Antelope Valley Mall, a million-square-foot regional shopping facility, just finished a major renovation and upgrade project that involved new landscaping, palm trees and a water fountain to the exterior, with new marble floors and shop facades to the interior. (It looks great!) A 21-acre expansion will include a Hilton Garden Inn & Suites, a 16-screen Cinemark movie theater (which will save the movie buffs among us in Palmdale the drive over to Lancaster Movies 22 on Avenue I) and new restaurants such as Johnny Carino's (italian chain restaurant), Famous Dave's BBQ, and Ginza Steakhouse. Away from the mall and over on Palmdale Blvd., a new sushi restaurant called Geisha also just opened.

New shopping projects continue to be developed. The new Albertson's anchor store over on Avenue N in Quartz Hill offers a huge, brand new supermarket complete with an "International Section" that offers food brands from around the world. (For those of us Brits who cannot live without our salad cream, HP Sauce and Branston pickle, this is the place to go!)

New neighborhood shopping centers, churches and park upgrades are in the works between 10th Street West and Avenue N West, along Rancho Vista Blvd on Palmdale's West side.

On Palmdale's East side, work is continuing this year to acquire and remove older residential properties in the Courson Connection Project area east of Poncitlan Square. This is an area that has seen some MAJOR improvements recently! More than $1.2 million is budgeted for property acquisition and design. The project plans call for the provision of 300 units of affordable senior housing, a new 12,000 square foot Senior Center (to replace the one just across the way on 10th Street East), a park with senior-oriented activities and space for small commercial establishments catering to senior citizens. The City of Palmdale is working with leading nonprofit housing developers to complete the project by 2008.

Just by looking at the new park upgrades and programs available to the city's children and the robust local economy ... the City of Palmdale is WORKING!

Sandee Conley. ePro REALTOR
www.real-estate-palmdale.com
Thanks to Palmdale News: Barbara La Fata, Editor and Jenny Peterson, Assistant Editor for source information.

The real estate market in Los Angeles County seems to be stabilizing. There is still a lot of buyer activity but the rising home prices seem to have reached their peak.

Along those lines, the Internet has been a paradise for home hunters. Countless sites help buyers sort through listings. Financial calculators and mortgage brokerages assist buyers with their finances. But it has not, until recently, offered much information for the non-seller who just wants to know what a house is worth.

For most, a home is one of their leading assets. Being able to monitor its (hopefully) rising value gives owners a critical piece of information on which to base investment decisions and home improvement projects. The new push to put home values on the internet will ultimately help homeowners manage their property.

Buyers and sellers can also connect to contractors to build decks, replace roofs and re-plumb the bathroom, among other projects.

The importance of new services like the one promised by Zillow cannot be ignored - it educates consumers. Industry surveys suggest that active internet users are more likely to use real estate agents when they buy and sell property as well.

The Internet-informed consumer is a better-informed person - they actually buy a home faster.

Sandee Conley
661 209 0760
www.real-estate-palmdale.com