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Decline in Consumer Confidence

Decline in Consumer Confidence
The Conference Board, a private research group, said its index of consumer confidence for April moved to 104.0 compared with the upwardly revised 108.2 seen in March. It was the second monthly decline in a row. Economists had expected the April reading to drop to 105.0, according to a survey conducted by Dow Jones Newswires.
March's reading was originally reported at 107.2.The present situation index, a gauge of consumers' assessment of current economic conditions, fell to 131.3 from an upwardly revised 138.5 in March. It was the first decline in six months.
Consumer expectations for the state of economic activity over the next six months slipped to 85.8 in April from an upwardly revised 87.9 the prior month.
"Unlike the decline in March, which was solely the result of apprehension about the short-term outlook, this month's decline was the combination of weakening expectations and a less favorable assessment of present-day conditions," said Lynn Franco, director of the conference board consumer research center.
Ms. Franco said rising gas pump prices "continue to play a key role in dampening" expectations. She added that "the decline in the Present Situation Index...warrants monitoring in the months ahead, as further declines would suggest a softening in growth."
Survey respondents calling current economic conditions "good" fell to 26.5% in April from 28.6% in March. Those saying conditions were "bad" lifted to 15.0% from 14.5%.
Consumers' views on the labor market also declined, with those calling jobs "plentiful" dropping to 27.8% from 30.3% the prior month. Those describing jobs as "hard to get" lifted to 20.4% from 18.9%.

C.A.R. REPORTS HOME SALES DECREASE 20.8 PERCENT IN MARCH

HOME SALES DECREASE 20.8 PERCENT IN MARCH. The median price of an existing single-family home in California increased 3.2 percent in March and sales decreased 20.8 percent compared with the same period a year ago, C.A.R. recently reported. "March sales fell below the levels of recent months in reaction to an uptick in mortgage rates earlier this year along with tighter underwriting standards. The year-to-year decline in March was larger than in recent months in part because sales in March 2006 were the strongest in all of last year," said C.A.R. President Colleen Badagliacco. "Moreover, recent news regarding foreclosures and the subprime situation had an adverse impact on the market psychology of many buyers, leading some to delay their home-purchase decisions."According to the report, the median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during March was $580,090, a 3.2 percent increase over the $562,130 median for March 2006. Also last month, closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 427,110 at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, down 20.8 percent compared with the sales pace recorded one year earlier.
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Why It's Smart to Be Nice to the Dog

Why It's Smart to Be Nice to the DogYou may not own a pet, but 69 million American households do, says the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. Some three-quarters of these households view their pet as a child or family member. “That’s why, it would never enter a renter’s [or condo buyer’s] mind to move without their dogs, cats, or birds,” says Karen Okura, manager of behavior and training for the Anti-Cruelty Society of Chicago. If you want to work with them, that’s your challenge, too.Although one-third of renters responding to a recent Apartments.com survey described finding a rental that allowed pets “very difficult,” 84 percent of respondents said they currently live in a property that allowed pets. Eighty-four percent of surveyed renters own pets.Typically, properties that allow pets charge either additional rent or a pet deposit. Among those surveyed, 28 percent say a deposit is preferable to an additional rental fee and 28 percent were vocal about their dissatisfaction with pet deposits and pet rental fees. Additionally, 7 percent stated that children do more damage to apartments than pets. Among renters who don’t have a pet, more than 63 percent plan to adopt one in the future and more than 32 percent of renters who don’t have a pet say they’re without a pet because their apartment doesn’t allow pets. — By Camilla McLaughlin for REALTOR Magazine Online

The most dangerous four-letter word
E-mails are convenient. They're quick and easy. They're used for all manner of communication these days. But some think the word "send" is the most dangerous four-letter word in the language.
We've all seen examples, recent and not-so-recent, of people getting in varying degrees of trouble over e-mails, from officials in the White House to an employee at a local school district who just quit his job in the midst of an investigation over "offensive" e-mails.
Robert Fulford, writing in the National Post (of Canada), offers his review of the new book, "Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home"(Knopf). It's by David Shipley, who runs The New York Times Op-Ed page, and Will Schwalbe, editor-in-chief of Hyperion Books. The book, Fulford says, has many examples and some good advice for those who use e-mail.
E-mail a friend about it. Carefully.