10,458 Ohio properties saw foreclosure actions (default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) in November. That’s down 21 percent from the previous month and a one percent drop from November of 2009, so says RealtyTrac® U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. Continue reading
According to RE/MAX Valley Real Estate’s Mahoning Valley Housing Report (MVHR) single family residential monthly home sales were substantially higher both month over month and year over year, a display not seen since the end of the tax credit in June. Other data shows that although the real estate market is still struggling to find secure footing our three county area, the trend is decidedly toward stabilization. The supply of active inventory and absorption rate data took baby steps in a positive direction, while the medium home price index remained constant despite dire predictions of falling home prices elsewhere.
Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray has just days before turning over the AG’s office to Mike DeWine and heading to Washington where he’s been tagged to head the enforcement division of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Although the new watchdog agency doesn’t officially exist until next July, Cordray is getting in some early licks.
Although the employment rate in Ohio was little changed, Ohioans got a psychological the rate fell nominally out of double digits for the first time since March of 2009. Ohio’s unemployment rate was 9.9 percent in October, down slightly from 10.0 percent in September, according to data released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). Ohio’s nonfarm wage and salary employment increased 8,400 over the month, from the revised 5,014,500 in September to 5,022,900 in October.
Job loss continues to plague the Mahoning Valley even as the unemploment rate drops.
Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), a federal-state program that gathers data on labor force, employment and unemployment at the state and sub-state levels, reported today that the Columbiana, Mahoning, and Trumbull Counties in the Mahoning Valley all saw drops in unemployment rate. The combined Mahoning Valley rate fell to 10.9 percent from 11.2 percent and was the sixth straight monthly drop in the rate since March’s high of 14.5 percent.
Ohio's EdChoice program offers students a way to avoid persistantly under-performing schools.
Some would have us believe that finding a caring parent in the City of Youngstown is an oddity as rare as any endangered species. It seems everybody, especially the members of the Youngstown Education Association (YEA) a.k.a. “the teachers,” are quick to blame parental care and discipline – or lack thereof - for the double whammy facing Youngstown City Schools. If the union is to be believed, and unfortunately many do, YEA is in no way responsible for the fact that the system has been mired in ‘academic emergency‘ for two straight years, and certainly the continuing ‘fiscal emergency‘ declared by the state auditor is in no way connected to union protectionism. Continue reading
Dynamic blazes of orange, yellow, red and rust will provide the perfect backdrop for hikers who are ready to reconnect with the natural world this weekend. ODNR is reporting near peak and peak fall foliage in most parts of the state.
“There are many organized hikes planned at Ohio state parks and nature preserves this weekend that will provide Ohioans and visitors to the Buckeye State an amazing perspective of some of the state’s most spectacular natural terrain,” said Casey Burdick, fall foliage expert for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Forestry. “State parks like Lake Hope and preserves like Clifton Gorge are stunning on a normal day, but when these places are draped with beautiful fall color, the experience is breathtaking.
Below the Marcellus lies the Utica Shale Formation. The Utica represents a source of natural gas that may one day prove even larger than the Marcellus.
Sean Logan, Director Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued the following advice and warning to Ohio landowners:
“As many property owners have learned, oil and gas drilling companies are seeking to lease the rights to drill on local private property. This is taking place throughout eastern Ohio. This new pursuit of leased rights reflects the oil and gas potential being found in the Marcellus Shale formation, which is located between 5,000-6,000 feet underground.”
GEO is the Ohio Chapter of the American Solar Energy Society (ASES), and GEO’s 8th Annual Ohio Solar Tour is part of the National Solar Tour managed by ASES. This FREE statewide event on October 2 & 3 provides the unique opportunity for people to select from 243 Open Houses or 8 Guided Tours in 119 communities across 45 counties – a 44% increase from 2009.
Ohio’s unemployment rate was 10.1 percent in August, down slightly from 10.3 percent in July, according to data released this morning by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). Ohio’s nonfarm wage and salary employment decreased 15,400 over the month, from the revised 5,046,600 in July to 5,031,200 in August.
Despite recent positive economic recovery strides reported for our metropolitan district, Youngstown remains among the 20 weakest-performing metro areas in the nation.
Nearly three years after the beginning of the Great Recession, the nation’s economic recovery, jobless and fragile since its onset, seems to be running out of steam according to the newest edition of the MetroMonitor from the Brookings Institution. The federal government revised its estimate of second quarter 2010 inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) growth downward from a moderate 2.4 percent annual rate to an anemic 1.6 percent. Although house prices were higher in June than they were a year ago, this was probably due to the lingering effect of the now-expired federal homebuyer tax credits, and few analysts expect continued nationwide growth in house prices this year.