V’room Go The Cars
US cars and light truck sales in May were up 8.2% says Autodata. Truck sales were the stronger of the two – up 10.9%. The Big Three had the following sales: GM up 3.1%,Ford up 14.1% and Chrysler up 11%. Nissan led Japanese makes with a 24.7% improvement.
Visalia New Homes Up
Visalia new home building permits for May were higher than the year before with permits issued for 18 new sf homes compared to 13 in May 2012, So far this year the city has issued home permits totaling 127 compared to 70 this time last year – an 81% jump.
Fewer Distressed Homes
Distressed home sales continued to decline in April, as previously underwater homes rose in value, and the share of REO sales registered in the single-digits for the first time in more than five years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported .
The combined share of all distressed property sales registered its lowest level since February 2008, dropping to 24.4 percent in April, down from 27.9 percent in March and down from 45.8 percent in April 2012. The share of all distressed sales in most counties also declined significantly from the previous year, with Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Orange, San Diego, San Mateo, and Santa Clara registering in the single- or low double-digits in April.
The share of equity sales – or non-distressed property sales – now make up more than three-fourths of total sales, the highest share since February 2008. The share of equity sales in April increased to 75.6 percent, up from 72.1 percent in March. Equity sales made up more than half (54.2 percent) of all sales in April 2012.
In Central California Tulare County distressed sales dropped from 60% of the market a year ago to 34%. In Fresno County it dropped to 38% from 62% a year earlier . In SLO County the figures dropped from 44% to 17%.
More Crude Oil Moves By Train. `What pipeline? I Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Pipeline!
WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 30, 2013 – The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today that U.S. Class I railroads originated a record 97,135 carloads of crude oil in the first quarter, up 20 percent from the 81,122 carloads in fourth quarter of 2012 and 166 percent higher than the 36,544 carloads originated in the first quarter of 2012.