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.

jason trawick jerry lewis tampa bay bucs cowboys cowboys slim dunkin slim dunkin