Housing market falters, sales revenue stabilizes

Columbia, like most of the country, is slogging out of the recession.
However, the housing market in Boone County during the third quarter fared worse than the country as a whole.
The hangover from the expiration of federal home buying tax credits sent the US housing market through its worst summer in more than a decade.
In Boone County, agents sold a mere 385 homes from the beginning of July to the end of September, compared with 512 in 3Q ’09. The 25 percent quarter-to-quarter decline in Boone County is about the same as the Midwest region but higher than the 19 percent drop nationally.
The number of building permits issued in Columbia is no longer falling. That seems like a good thing until you look at the effect of new building on the housing inventory, which rose from nine to 13 months. The figure is based on the ratio of active, new and sold listings and refers to the amount of time it would take to sell the homes on the market.
Sales tax receipts, though, have stabilized. From January through August, the amount of revenue collected by the city through its sales tax rose $223,912, a modest 1.3 increase from the same period last year. But they were slightly lower in August compared with the same month last year. Whether the city collects more sales taxes than in 2009 depends largely on how much shoppers are willing to spend this holiday season. Nationally, retailers are hopeful that wallets are a bit looser this year.
Unemployment in the Columbia area, like the rest of the state and nation, is getting better but not by much. The unemployment rate decreased to 6.3 percent here from 6.6 percent in September last year. In the state, unemployment is still more than 9 percent, albeit slightly lower than last September.
Growth goes on, though. Sewer, water and electric customers continue to be added to the city utility rolls at about a 1 percent rate. Commercial activity picked up. The total value of commercial building permits was up about $9.6 million in September, and commercial sewer customers increased nearly 3 percent.
The airport also looks good; arrivals increased by 1,134, and departures went up 1,188 this September compared with the month in 2009.