California Exodus

With no letup in home prices, the California exodus surges

Andrea Riquier

Now, in the midst of a deepening housing crisis, thousands of people are following that advice.

Over a million more people moved out of California from 2006 to 2016 than moved in, according to a new report, due mainly to the high cost of housing that hits lower-income people the hardest.

“A strong economy can also be dysfunctional,” noted the report, a project of Next 10 and Beacon Economics. Housing costs are much higher in California than in other states, yet wages for workers in the lower income brackets aren’t. And the state attracts more highly-educated high-earners who can afford pricey homes.

There are many reasons for the housing crunch, but the lack of new construction may be the most significant. According to the report, from 2008 to 2017, an average of 24.7 new housing permits were filed for every 100 new residents in California. That’s well below the national average of 43.1 permits per 100 people.

If this trend persists, the researchers argued, analysts forecast the state will be about 3 million homes short by 2025.

© Provided by Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

What does it mean?

California homeowners spend an average of 21.9% of their income on housing costs, the 49th worst in the nation, while renters spend 32.8%, the 48th worst. The median rent statewide in 2016 was $1,375, which is 40.2% higher than the national average. And the median home price was — wait for it — more than double that of the national average.

One coping strategy: California residents are more likely to double up. Nearly 14% of renter households had more than one person per bedroom, the highest reading for this category in the nation.

Coping can also mean leaving.

In a separate analysis, Realtor.com found that the number of people searching real estate listings in the 16 top California markets compared to people living there and searching elsewhere was more than double that of other areas — and growing.

And in those areas — counties including Santa Clara, San Mateo and Los Angeles — the growth in views of listings on Realtor.com was virtually unchanged compared to a year ago this spring, while views of listings in other U.S. areas were 15% higher.

(News Corp, owner of MarketWatch, also operates Realtor.com under license from the National Association of Realtors.)

Also read: America’s new great migration in search of lower property taxes

The Next 10 and Beacon Economics researchers used Census data to track migration patterns by demographic characteristics. More than 20% of the 1.1 million people who moved in the decade they tracked did so in 2006, at the height of the housing bubble, when prices were, as they write, “sky-high.”

As the housing market imploded and prices came back to earth, migration out of the state slowed. But as prices recovered, “out-migration” has not only picked up steam, it’s accelerated.

Those migration patterns are shaped by socioeconomics. Most people leaving the state earn less than $30,000 per year, even as those who can afford higher housing costs are still arriving. As the report noted, California was also a net importer of highly skilled professionals from the information, professional and technical services, and arts and entertainment industries. On the other hand, California saw the largest exodus of workers in accommodation, construction, manufacturing and retail trade industries.

(In a note about what this statewide trend might mean for the national economy, the report also calls the housing crunch “most dire” in agricultural areas, particularly the Central Valley and Imperial County.)

And where those refugees head may say a lot about why they’re going. The top five destinations for California migrants between 2014 and 2016 were the nearby, but generally cheaper, states of Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Median statewide home prices

California
$549,000

Texas
$295,000

Arizona
$339,000

Nevada
$344,900

Oregon
$420,000

Washington
$420,000

(as of April 1; source: Realtor.com)

It’s worth noting that many housing analysts and economists believe that the 2017 tax law changes may push residents of higher-priced properties out of high-tax states like California. But that isn’t happening yet.

Andrea Riquier reports on housing and banking from MarketWatch's New York newsroom. Follow her on Twitter @ARiquier.

Read: Home prices won’t slow down, stumping the experts and shutting out buyers

Rockford Area Economic Development Council loses $500,000+

By Chris Green
Staff writer

Posted at 11:47 AM Updated at 8:21 PM

ROCKFORD — The Rockford Area Economic Development Council has fired its vice president of operations, Leilani Hillis, and its leaders accuse her of stealing more than $500,000 from the organization over a period of more than 10 years.

Auditors informed RAEDC officials of the suspected financial misconduct last week, said CEO and President Nathan Bryant. RAEDC officials immediately launched an internal investigation and placed Hillis on unpaid administrative leave.

Hillis has not been charged with a crime. Katie Zimmerman of the Winnebago County state’s attorney’s office said Rockford police are investigating the matter. RAEDC officials held a news conference Thursday to update the public and the agency’s investors about the matter.

“We do believe this is isolated to an individual person in an individual area of our organization,” Bryant said.

Hillis could not be reached for comment.

RAEDC is a nonprofit organization charged with helping employers attract and retain jobs in the Rockford region. The agency spent $1.9 million in 2016, according to its most recent federal income statement. About 20 percent of the organization’s income comes from public sources, including $150,000 a year from the city of Rockford and $100,000 a year from Winnebago County. The remainder comes from donations from private companies.

“Although we are not held to the standards of a public organization, we operate on behalf of the public,” Bryant said. “And because of that, it is terribly important for us to conduct ourselves in a manner that is transparent and no different than what our public partners would do.”

Hillis was employed by RAEDC for more than 18 years. Her duties included coordinating daily operations and financial services of the organization, as well as originating annual budgets and working with the agency’s auditors. Bryant said Hillis is suspected of providing false information to auditors to cover her alleged theft. The agency is working with its auditors to enact tighter financial controls, he said.

Bryant would not say whether RAEDC had lost investors because of the alleged theft, but said: “Our investors have been extremely gracious during this process. They understand that unfortunately activities like this happen.”

Winnebago County Board Chairman Frank Haney said that the agency’s leaders acted quickly after learning of the suspected theft and that RAEDC still has his full support.

“They’ve communicated openly with their stakeholders and the community through the process,” he said. “RAEDC has been clear that this in no way reflects its organizational values and has shared that they are working to restore confidence by actively addressing policies and procedures.

“Economic development efforts are critical to our future success, so we support the staff of the RAEDC who we know to be smart, capable and dedicated advocates for our region.”

Chris Green: 815-987-1241; cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen

Above is from:  http://www.rrstar.com/news/20180503/rockford-area-economic-development-council-fires-employee-suspected-of-stealing-more-than-500000

Above is from:  http://www.wrex.com/story/38104767/2018/05/03/raedc-will-hold-news-conference-over-financial-misconduct-allegations

Less chaos, more civility needed in White House

Less chaos, more civility needed in White House

By Sarah Bingaman Dixon

10:48 pm

Every morning for the past year and a half, we have awakened to a White House in chaos. 

Scandals, firings, tweet storms attacking individuals and institutions, incoherent ramblings and odd gestures flood from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. People say that the president thrives on chaos. Personally, I tend to favor civility, predictability and peace.

The never-ending barrage of ugliness from the White House is damaging to our global reputation, to the functioning of all facets of our government, and to the very health of all Americans.

It is simply not productive to live in an environment that is in a state of constant chaos, particularly when most of it is generated by the president for no justifiable reason.

The only majority-party congressional members who are willing to express concern about the president’s bizarre behavior are the 30 or so who are leaving Congress in 2019. The rest, including 16th District U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, seem unwilling to criticize the president’s actions in order to protect big donor contributions to their re-election campaigns.

Our remedy is our power to vote. The mid-term election is Nov. 6. As a recent editorial in Sauk Valley Media reminded us, we have more choices on the ballot this year than we have had in a long time.

Unless you are a person who thrives on chaos and unpredictability, you might want to join me in voting for change this fall.

Above is from:  http://www.saukvalley.com/2018/04/30/less-chaos-more-civility-needed-in-white-house/a7bvnzr/

 

4