Only Texas, with an increase of 478,000 residents, and California with an increase of 381,000 people were ahead of the Tar Heel state in terms of increase in the number of people.

In terms of percentage gain, North Carolina had a 1.4 percent population growth rate between 2008 and 2009, the ninth-highest in the nation.

North Carolina’s population stands at an estimated 9,380.884, up from 9,247,134 in 2008, according to the new report. The nation’s population is now estimated at 307,006,550, up from 304,374,846 last year.

The Census Bureau state population estimates are the last to be released before the agency conducts its official census of the nation next year as mandated by the Constitution.

In terms of the percentage of population growth between 2008 and 2009, Wyoming led the nation with a 2.12 percent growth to 544,270; Utah was up 2.10 percent to 2.8 million; and Texas was up 1.97 percent to 24.8 million residents.

California still has more people than any other state (37 million), followed by Texas (24.8 million), New York (19.5 million), Florida (18.5 million) and Illinois (12.9 million).

Three states lost people over the last year: Michigan (down 0.33 percent), Maine (down 0.11 percent) and Rhode Island (down 0.03 percent).

From The Charlotte Business Journal

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel in South Carolina ordered Wachovia — now a owned by Wells Fargo & Co. — to pay $1.1 million in attorney’s fees, $73,000 in hearing fees and more than $15,000 in damages to the brokers who left A.G. Edwards in South Carolina for Stifel in January 2008 after Charlotte-based Wachovia bought A.G. Edwards in 2007 for $6.9 billion.

Last year, Wachovia accused Stifel and four of its brokers — Frank Brand, Stephen Jones, Marvin Slaughter and George Stukes — of breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of fiduciary duty, raiding and unfair competition, according to FINRA.

Stifel and its brokers denied the allegations.

In its decision released last week, the three-person arbitration panel also directed Wachovia to tell a federal court in South Carolina that sworn statements from individuals representing Wachovia in support of its request for a temporary restraining order against Stifel “may contain materially false representations of fact,” and that Wachovia lawyers used a video tape that does not support their allegations.

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) bought Wachovia earlier this year, and the St. Louis-based brokerage unit is now called Wells Fargo Advisors.

Wells Fargo Advisors said Tuesday it was “very disappointed by this decision.”

“We believe the case was wrongly decided and we intend to move to vacate the award,” Wells spokeswoman Teresa Dougherty said. She declined to respond to additional questions about FINRA’s order.

Ron Kruszewski, chairman and chief executive of Stifel Financial Corp, the parent company of Stifel Nicolaus, said FINRA’s decision speaks for itself.

This isn’t the first time the local brokerage companies have clashed over employees. In 2007, A.G. Edwards sued one of its top West Coast executives who resigned to join Stifel.

At the time, Kruszewski said A.G. Edwards was trying to intimidate employees whose jobs are uncertain and who may want to join his firm.

Charlotte Business Journal - by Kelsey Volkmann St. Louis Business Journal

*(STORY CONTINUED BELOW)

Where Home Prices Are Likely to Rise:

Charlotte, N.C.

Percentage Change:

1 Year, 2009: -8.15%

3 Year, 2009-2012: 3.54%

5 Year, 2009-2014: 12.20%
Boston, Ma.

Percentage Change:

1 Year, 2009: -9.75%

3 Year, 2009-2012: 4.48%

5 Year, 2009-2014: 20.44%

Baltimore, Md.

Percentage Change:

1 Year, 2009: -13.32%

3 Year, 2009-2012: -3.33%

5 Year, 2009-2014: 9.22%

Atlanta, Ga.

Percentage Change:

1 Year, 2009: -14.91%

3 Year, 2009-2012: 0.98%

5 Year, 2009-2014: 11.35%

Austin, Texas

Percentage Change:

1 Year, 2009: 0.29%

3 Year, 2009-2012: -1.54%

5 Year, 2009-2014: -1.01%
Though home prices in many areas still have room to drop, economists say some of the country’s real estate markets are showing early signs of repair. A two-year slide in values has eased its stomach-turning pace, and some analysts expect the national market to bottom out by mid 2010.

That’s the good news.

But just as subprime lending, the housing bubble and the country’s subsequent wave of foreclosures had distinct consequences in separate areas of the country, the recovery will also look dramatically different by region.

When prices do rise, they’ll inch, rather than soar, and some areas won’t match their pre-bubble prices for a decade, according to home price forecasts by Moody’s Economy.com.

In cities in Florida, such as Miami and Orlando, housing prices peaked late, leaving ample time for developers to go on a building bender. This has resulted in a bloated inventory. As a result, these areas may have a long wait before real estate costs level out. In Texas metros like Houston and Dallas, sustained economic health and less exposure to the 2004-2006 run-up in prices are expected to help homeowners there weather the bust better than most.
BEHIND THE NUMBERS:

Moody’s Economy.com provided Forbes with a housing price forecast for the country’s 40 largest metropolitan statistical areas (or metros)–geographic entities defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for use in collecting statistics. The forecast predicts the percent change in home prices over one year, three years and five years, using data from the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index. In the MSAs for which Case Schiller does not publish numbers, Moody’s used a weighted average of metropolitan divisions within those areas.

Moody’s calculates future changes in home price by measuring both long-term demographic and economic fundamentals, like income and population changes; and changes caused by short-term supply and demand shifts.

HOUSING SWINGS:

The data provider’s forecasters evaluated not only the relationship between such drivers in each metro, but the effect of overlying economic principles. Typically, prices will continue on the trajectory they are on, a trend that economists call persistence.

“When people see prices rising, they think housing is a good investment,” says Celia Chen, Moody’s Economy.com research staff senior director, specializing in housing economics. For some time afterward, these buyers will bite, helping to push prices even higher.

But, “sentiment can turn when prices are proceeding very quickly,” says Chen, referring to post-bust buyer reaction. “At some point people can think, ‘it’s not realistic, nothing is supporting this increase,’ and there’s a drop in demand for housing.”

Moody’s predicts a 16.08% decrease in prices nationwide by the end of the year. By 2012, however, prices will be 3.7% above 2009 levels, and by 2014 they will have nearly reverted to their pre-2009 state.

THE CRISIS IN THE COUNTRY’S METROS:

But nationwide data doesn’t tell the whole story. To understand the effects of the crisis one must examine thousands of micro-economies.

“This whole cycle didn’t play itself out uniformly across the country in magnitude or timing,” says Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida. “All housing markets are truly local. They’re a function of the structure of the local economy.”

Moody’s data show how prices will move relative to where they are now. Thus the depths to which prices have fallen in many metros means that what looks like a dramatic recovery may only reflect a prior correction that was just as severe.

In San Jose, for example, the five-year forecast calls for a 23.04% jump in prices. That sounds impressive until you note that at the one-year mark, prices will have fallen by more than that–25.14%.

But the numbers are useful for sketching out the potential shape of a recovery, and many experts agree with Moody’s outlook.

“Recent trends show a slowing of declining prices and the formation of a bottom,” says Susan Wachter, a professor of real estate at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. But she stops short of heralding a new real estate boom. “The big picture here is that there’s no rebound. I think it is in fact far more likely that we will see an L-shaped outcome.”

COMPLETE STORY CAN BE READ AT:
http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/107740/where-home-prices-are-likely-to-rise.html?mod=realestate-buy#top30

News Release
July 17, 2009
HousingZone

WASHINGTON, July 17 - Nationwide housing starts and permits posted substantial gains in June as home builders responded to improved market conditions and the impending expiration of the first-time buyer tax credit, according to data released by the U.S. Commerce Department today. Commerce reported a 3.6 percent gain in overall housing starts to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 582,000 units and an 8.7 percent gain in permit issuance to 563,000 units.

“The upcoming expiration of the first-time home buyer tax credit on December 1st is encouraging some builders to get homes started now so that they can be completed in time for clients to take advantage of this attractive buying incentive,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a home builder from Tulsa, Okla. “However, there is still much concern about the difficulty of financing new-home production and continuing weakness in the job market.”

“Today’s report was in keeping with our forecasts for some glimmers of improvement on the single-family side in the second quarter, and also with the results of our latest builder surveys,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “Many remain very cautious, however, in the face of the severe tightening of credit for acquisition, development and construction financing and increased instances of low appraisals tied to improper use of distressed properties as comps, both of which threaten to derail a housing and economic recovery going forward.”

Single-family housing starts rose for a fourth consecutive month in June, posting a 14.4 percent gain to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 470,000 units, while single-family permits rose for a third consecutive month, posting a 5.9 percent gain to 430,000 units. Meanwhile, the multifamily side, which characteristically displays greater month-to-month volatility, posted a 25.8 percent decline in starts following an unsustainably large gain in the previous month, to 112,000 units. Multifamily permits rose 18.8 percent to 133,000 units from an abnormal low in May.

Regionally, housing starts were mixed, with the Northeast and Midwest posting big gains of 28.6 percent and 33.3 percent, respectively, and the South and West posting declines of 1.4 percent and 14.8 percent, respectively. However, the declines in both the South and West were entirely driven by dips in multifamily production.
advertisementPermit issuance was up across the board in June, with the Northeast posting a 5.4 percent gain, the Midwest a 3.4 percent gain, the South a nearly 14 percent gain and the West a nearly 2 percent gain.
© 2009, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Article found at:  http://www.housingzone.com/article/CA6671781.html

Lowes Cos. Inc. (NYSE:LOW) ranks No. 9, with sales of $48.3 billion last year.

Supermarket owner Delhaize America Inc. of Salisbury ranks No. 21, with sales of $18.2 billion. The company, owned by Delhaize Group (NYSE:DEG) of Belgium, operates the Food Lion and Hannaford Bros. Co. supermarket chains.

Discount retailer Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE:FDO) of Matthews is No. 51, with revenue of $6.8 billion.

Charlotte-based Belk Inc. ranks No. 87, with sales of $3.8 billion.

And Harris Teeter Inc. ranks No. 98, with sales of $3.3 billion last year. The supermarket chain is a subsidiary of Ruddick Corp. (NYSE:RDK) of Charlotte.

Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) tops the list with 2007 sales of $378.8 billion.

Stores magazine is a publication of Stores Media, the communications group of the National Retail Federation. The organization is the world’s largest retail trade association.

Story taken from Charlotte Business Journal at the following link:

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2008/06/30/daily14.html

3 story townhomes with garage and 3rd floor bonus room included

Tuesday, May 5, 2009, 10:15am EDT

Pending sales of existing homes rose for the second consecutive month in March, adding to optimism that the sluggish housing market may be poised for a recovery.

The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index rose 3.2 percent last month, following a 2 percent increase in February.

 
It was the first back-to-back monthly increase in pending home sales in almost a year.

The index measures signed purchase contracts,but not actual closings. As a result, it is considered a forward-looking gauge of the housing market.

“This increase could be the leading edge of first-time buyers responding to very favorable affordability conditions, and an $8,000 tax credit, which increases buying power even more in areas where special programs allow buyers to use it as a downpayment,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.

“We need several months of sustained growth to demonstrate a recovery in housing,” he adds.

The pending sales index rose 8.5 percent in the South, followed by a 5.7 percent increase in the Northeast.

Charlotte Business Journal

Story posted at:  http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2009/05/04/daily14.html?ed=2009-05-05&ana=e_du_pub

U.S. migration may be down overall, but these vibrant metro areas are still attracting newcomers.

Unemployment is on the rise, credit is tight, and consumers aren’t spending–which means they aren’t picking up and moving much either. Very few places in America saw significant population growth in 2008.

But the buzzing metropolitan area of Denver bucked that trend. Its population increased by 2.17% in 2008. In 2007, it increased by 2.09%. In 2008, Denver was the 10th-fastest growing metro area in the U.S.

In Depth: 10 Cities Where Americans Are Relocating:

For one, according to an October 2008 survey conducted by Pew Research Center, Denver is the most popular city in America. People like it for its skiing, culture and vibrant nightlife, as well as its business opportunities. As of January 2009, the metro area’s unemployment rate was 6.5%. That’s high, but still two percentage points below the national average of 8.5% for the same month.

New Construction in Charlotte, NC by Calloway Homes, Inc.

Despite the overall economic slowdown, some parts of the country keep on moving ahead, attracting more and more newcomers–even if it’s at a slower pace than in more sound economic times. These places still offer a semblance of stability, as well as great weather, cultural life and, in many cases, affordability.

Behind the Numbers
To determine the fastest-growing metro areas in the country, we used 2008 population estimates for metropolitan statistical areas with a population over 1 million, released March 19, 2009, by the U.S. Census Bureau. MSAs are geographic entities defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for use by federal agencies in collecting, tabulating and publishing federal statistics.

We then compared the 2008 population estimates to the previous year’s data to see which areas had grown the most, percentage-wise.
 
Nine places fared even better than Denver, though they share similar qualities: more business opportunities, better weather and more affordable housing. The top three areas according to the data are Raleigh, N.C., ranking first, which jumped 4.29% to nearly 1.9 million; Austin, Texas, which came in second, with a 3.77% increase to almost 1.7 million; and Charlotte, N.C., which moved up 3.36% to 1.7 million.

All these areas’ increases were smaller in 2008 than they were in 2007, (Raleigh increased by 4.7% in 2007, Austin by 4.29% and Charlotte by 4.2%), but a slight slowdown is not necessarily a bad thing, according to William Frey, Ph.D., a demographer at the Brookings Institute, an independent research and policy group based in Washington, D.C. “Part of the story here is the rapid rise in growth in the middle of decade,” says Frey. “That growth was unnatural.”

The in-migration that happened in the middle of this decade certainly had a lot to do with the housing boom. When that went bust, so did those crazy population balloons. But these particular places are still growing because instead of building an economy that relies heavily on one industry (in Las Vegas, it’s hospitality; in New York, it’s finance), most of the metro areas on our list serve as headquarters for a diverse range of companies.

For example, Austin’s biggest employers include University of Texas, Advanced Micro Devices (nyse: AMD - news - people ) and Dell (nasdaq: DELL - news - people ). That wide range might have something to do with the area’s relatively low January 2009 unemployment rate of 6.4%.

This is the opposite of what happened in true housing boom-and-bust towns like Las Vegas. In 2004, Vegas–a foreclosure mecca–saw a population increase of 4.6%, followed by 3.66% in 2005, 3.98% in 2006 and 3.22% in 2007. In 2008, that number fell to 2%.
 
The Power of Business
When it comes down to it, a buzzing business community is a metro area’s most important characteristic, says Sean C. Safford, a professor at the University of Chicago and author of Why the Garden Club Couldn’t Save Youngstown: The Transformation of the Rust Belt. He studies the social economics of U.S. cities and metro areas.

“Perception is driven by the vibrancy of the companies in an area,” he says.

However, that doesn’t mean that these metros won’t suffer from a slowdown in population when 2009’s numbers are released next year. Charlotte, for example, reported a 10.5% unemployment rate for January 2009, likely related to the fact that Bank of America (nyse: BAC - news - people ) is headquartered there. That high unemployment rate almost guarantees stunted growth in 2009.

“We don’t quite yet know what the impact [of the ongoing recession] will be for 2009 populations,” says Frey. “But we do know it’s not going to get any better.”

Indeed, where Americans are relocating today has little to do with where they’ll be moving tomorrow.

Article link posted on:  http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/30/americans-moving-cities-lifestyle-real-estate-relocating.html?partner=email