County Economic Indicators Point Upward

The University of San Diego Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate's Index of Leading Economic Indicators for San Diego County rose 0.3 percent in July over the previous month, the ninth monthly advance in a row.

The increase was led by gains in the number of housing permits issued, help wanted advertising and consumer confidence, USD Professor Alan Gin said.

The 263 building permits for single-family homes issued in July was the highest since December 2010, said Gin, who is also a Rancho Peñasquitos resident.

"This is likely due to firming in the single-family market, as evidenced by the median price reaching a four-year high according to DataQuick," Gin said. "If this trend continues, it has significant ramifications for the local economy, as more people are employed in the building of a single-family unit than in the building of a multi-family one."

He said unemployment in San Diego County fell, while the amount of help- wanted advertising climbed for the 19th month in a row. While consumer confidence rose for the eighth straight month, it was the smallest increase during that time period.

Stock prices for local publicly traded companies turned up after several months of decline, according to Gin.

The index now stands at 121.7, which is 4.6 points higher than July of last year. It's the highest since 122.7 in March 2008.

—City News Service

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