June 2013 Press Release

Tallahassee Economic Index Press Release

The Tallahassee Economic Index (TEI) rose 15.75 points in June, following a 1.25 point drop in May to 60.17, and a 9.32 point increase in April.

Says Brett F. Ewing, Founder of the Tallahassee Economic Index:

“In June we saw strong growth in the number of building permits issued, not only a monthly basis, but especially on a year over year basis. This is a continuing sign of strength in real estate. In contrast we saw a drop in the number of realtor sales in June compared to the prior month. We believe this could be due to the unusually large spike in mortgage rates during the period. This should just be a short term bump in the road, and if you compare this to a year ago we are actually still seeing growth.”

 “The contrasting signals we were seeing in last month’s report are now flashing clear green and confirming the rosy picture we believe in going forward” says Lance Mitchell, Director of Research at the TEI. “Initial Unemployment Claims plummeted on both a month over month and year over year basis, and the most leading real estate and consumer spending results were very positive, signaling a strong and confident consumer.”

TEI Mission: To establish an index that tracks and predicts economic growth in the city of Tallahassee. This will be accomplished using data collected from official sources in Leon County.