Car sales stay strong, with ways to go

Car Sales

Despite anemic growth in retail sales, one key indicator has remained fairly strong throughout 2012: motor vehicle sales. For September, motor vehicle sales totaled about $530million, an increase of about 15 percent compared with September 2011; motor vehicle sales at dealerships totaled $460million, according to numbers from the state’s Department of Revenue. The report, released last week, represents sales figures for September on which taxes were paid to the state in October.

In general, motor vehicle sales in 2012 have been fairly comparable with the level of sales last seen in 2008, but there is still a ways to go before sales return to peak pre-recession levels. For example, in September 2006, motor vehicle sales totaled $762million.
Economists say the gains reflect improving consumer confidence. Even though the state’s unemployment rate has remained above 8 percent, people are willing to buy big-ticket items.

Job growth

Arizona has gained jobs every month this year, and the trend continued in October, with job growth of 1.9 percent compared with 1.4 percent in October 2011.The pace of job growth has slowed every month of 2012 since July, when it was 2.5 percent.

Gas prices

Fuel prices across the state continued to fall in November, according to AAA Arizona. For the last week of November, the statewide average was $3.38 per gallon, dropping below the national average. In metro Phoenix, gas was about $3.34 a gallon.

Home prices

For the year, home prices have been on the rise across Maricopa County, but the median sales price of a single-family home in Maricopa County stayed flat in October at $160,000. In October 2011, the median sales price for a single-family home was $120,000.

Retail sales

Retail sales showed anemic growth in September, with totals of about $3.9billion, according to state figures. That’s up about 2.6 percent compared with September 2011, when sales totaled $3.8billion. That’s fairly comparable with June, July and August.