Check out the latest studies from the Haas Center.

Northwest Florida Employment
by Michael Scheibe, MBA
The unemployment rate for the Northwest Florida region in the second quarter of 2009 was 3.5 percent higher than it was in the second quarter of 2008. The unemployment rate identifies the percentage of people in the labor force that are seeking a job but do not have one. The labor force is the sum of those employed and unemployed, but it does not include the jobless who are not seeking employment such as full-time students and retirees. More »

Second Quarter Bed Tax Numbers Indicate Slight Decline in Growth
by Melissa Neal, PhD
During the second quarter of 2009, Northwest Florida bed tax collections decreased nearly 3.5% over the same time period in 2008.  Overall collections for the Northwest Florida region (at a 2% rate) were $6.2 million from April 2009 – June 2009 – down from $6.4 million a year ago. Although collections are not currently increasing, our forecast shows that bed taxes will continue to increase slowly over the next 12 months. More »



Northwest Florida Real Estate Activity
by David Kane, BS
The second quarter of 2009 signaled that the bottom (i.e. declining level of sales activity), has probably been hit, and that things really are starting to turn around.  Total home sales were up by a little over 2 percent on average for the five-county NW Florida region compared to the second quarter of 2008.  Sales of new homes continued to decline in our area, but re-sales were up by over 9 percent on average for the five- county region as a whole.  On a statewide basis this marks the fourth consecutive quarter that Florida has reported higher (than the corresponding quarter of the previous year) sales of existing homes.  According to the Florida Association of Realtors survey of MLS sales data within the twenty Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA’s) that comprise the state, sales of existing single-family homes were up by 23 percent compared to last year.  It’s taken some time, but the NW Florida region is finally bending in the direction of the rest of the state.  Over the same time period the median sales price of an existing single-family home declined by a statewide average of 29 percent, but declined by less than 11 percent in NW Florida.  In fact, for the three MSA’s that comprise NW Florida, the average median sales price of an existing single family home was about $172,000, which isn’t far below the highest reported median sales price of $195,500 in the Fort Lauderdale MSA. More »



Housing Affordability
by Anita Remesch, BS
In the second quarter of 2009, housing affordability decreased due to increases in mortgage interest rates and median home prices. The largest increase was felt in the Pensacola MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) with a 12.3 percent decrease in housing affordability.  The Panama City MSA decreased 9.5 percent and the Fort Walton MSA decreased 9.0 percent.  On the national level, housing affordability decreased 9.1 percent.  More »



Northwest Florida Retail Sales
by Michael Scheibe, MBA
The Northwest Florida region’s taxable retail sales totaled nearly $3.8 billion in the first quarter of 2009, down 9.8 percent from the previous year. Despite the region as a whole being down 9.8 percent from the previous year, two counties gained. Liberty County’s and Calhoun County’s sales increased 2.4 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. The largest percentage decline among the 16 counties was Gadsden County at -15 percent. The retail sales in the region are measured according to data on taxable retail sales that is collected and distributed by the Florida Department of Revenue. More »