Tales Of Two Cities: HoCo Loco Numbers / 1st Qtr 2012

It has taken me a couple of weeks to get to the March 2012 edition of Howard County Maryland Economic Indicators, a quarterly publication of ?the HoCo government and the HoCo Chamber of Commerce. The report is a pretty good snapshot of Howard County with sections on retail sales, banking, real estate (commercial and residential) agriculture, construction, technology and services.

The bottom line?

A mixed bag, some areas of the local economy are just okay while others are thriving. For example:

• Butter and cheese in HoCo is getting cheaper while bacon and beef pricing ?is trending upward.?

• HoCo new car dealers are expected to do well this year. The nationwide forecast for new car dealers ?is for 8% growth in 2012.? ?HoCo loco new car dealers expect 12% growth.

• The average home price in HoCo in December 2011 was 4.4% higher than in December 2010, though homes priced ?$600K and higher are still slow to move.?

• Banks have money to lend but ?continue to be cautious about deploying assets.?

• The number of loco building permits issued in December 2011 were 7.6% higher than for the same period a year earlier but so far, 2012 year to date, has seen a 3.7% decrease from the prior year.

The county coffers are getting fat again too. Fiscal year to date income tax revenues are up 25% ?above FY 11 levels through the same period.

For those true HoCo loco econ wonks, you can find the complete report here.

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