August 21,2108-
Developer wants to build subdivision, shopping center & hotel at Shirk and 198
Visalia developer Bill Morgan wants build a new single-family subdivision, commercial center and tourist-related hotel and restaurant at 9074 Mineral King, at the northeast corner of Shirk and 198 according to a preliminary site-plan filed with city this week. The project would require a zone change on the land.Morgan is also working to tenant a proposed shopping center at Cartmill and Hwy 99 in Tulare.
Quizno’s, Bobby Salazar and Chesters heading for Plaza Drive
It is going to be easier to find a place to eat off Plaza Drive soon.Three restaurants have indicated they will locate at 202 N Plaza, part of a new development at Crowley and Plaza Dr in Visalia. Quizno’s, Bobby Salazar and Chester’s Chicken have all paid their business tax for the new location in recent days.
Lemon Cove slated for 60-room hotel
Sleepy little Lemon Cove, on the road to Three Rivers, is inline to get a 60-room hotel according to an application filed with the county. Applicant Harinderpal Kaur is seeking a zone change on the south side of SR 216, 40 feet west of SR 198, north of Lemon Cove.
Jobless rate drops here
The unemployment rate in the Tulare County was 9.3 percent in July 2018, down from a revised 9.6 percent in June 2018, and below the year-ago estimate of 10.3 percent. This compares with an unadjusted unemployment rate of 4.4 percent for California and 4.1 percent for the nation during the same period.
Home sales buck trend in Tulare County.
Home sales in California were down in July says the California Association of Realtors. Home sales in the Central Valley were also down, some 1.3 percent from a year ago with only Kern, Merced, San Joaquin, and Tulare counties recording annual sales gains, while Fresno, Glenn, Kings, Madera, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, and Stanislaus counties posted a sales decline from July 2017.
By contrast Tulare County home sales were up 13.1% from a year ago as the median price climbed 8.7% to $239,000 compared to a state median of $591,000.
Statewide affordability remains a big issue.“In the midst of the peak home-buying season, high home prices and rising interest rates combined to crimp housing affordability, which in turn is subduing home sales,” said C.A.R. President Steve White. “Some of the reluctance by buyers appears to be driven by fears that the market may be peaking. Additionally, the lack of a federal tax incentive for homeownership could be at play given that much of the weakness is in the lower-priced, first-time buyer segment of the market.”
The statewide sales decline is the third in a row.