The past week was a good one, overall, if you've hungered for positive economic news.
On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told us the worst recession since the 1930s is probably over, although the nearly 15 million unemployed Americans will continue to feel the brunt of a slow recovery.
The recession, which started in December 2007, has reportedly erased 6.9 million jobs in this country. The Fed thinks U.S. unemployment will top 10 percent this year. It could take us about four years to get back to a jobless rate half that high.
The word from Washington marked Bernanke's most optimistic assessment yet of the economy.
And, his remarks came on the same day that the government reported that retail sales jumped 2.7 percent in August, the most in more than three years.
Here at home, economic growth appears to be at least consistent, if not ahead of the national trend.
Montgomery County Trustee Brenda Radford released numbers showing the best July ever for local retail sales tax collections.
The 2.5 percent local share of the combined state-and-local sales tax rate generated $3,765,578 during that month.
"I would attribute this to -- and I am very thankful to -- our troops being home, the beginning of the American Recovery and Reinvestment's Cash for Clunkers program and a small portion of the (Clarksville Area) Chamber of Commerce Shop Local campaign," Radford said.
"To each entity, Montgomery County is very thankful. The sales tax revenue collected in Montgomery County is distributed to the city of Clarksville and Clarksville-Montgomery County School System for their operations and their debt service funds," she said.
Cash for Clunkers and just general economic recovery no doubt helped local car dealers, who in August posted a dramatic improvement in sales totals over the same month a year ago.
A total of 677 new automobiles were sold in the Clarksville market last month, which is way up from the 459 sold in August 2008.
And, the local real estate market is showing recovery after a 2008 mid-recession decline, correction ... whatever you want to call it.
August numbers from the Clarksville Regional Multiple Listing Service, provided to me courtesy of Todd Harvey with the Byers & Harvey agency, show closed sales last month totaling 327 with an average sales price of $156,437. The average square footage sold was 1,816 and the average number of days on the market for these homes was 95.
The total number of closed sales represents an improvement from August 2008, when 206 homes were sold here at an average price of $154,970. The average square feet sold and average number of days on the market remained virtually unchanged year-over-year.
Closed home sales in the Clarksville market from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31 total up to 2,387, with an average price of $152,316, average square footage at 1,787 and average number of days on the market at 92.
That eight-month total is up from the same period in 2008 by 533 homes.
We're still not quite back to the housing boom of 2007 in Clarksville when 3,184 homes were sold in the first eight months, but we're moving in the right direction, and Clarksville is still a good place to be, good economy or bad.
Jimmy Settle is business editor and can be reached by phone at 245-0247 or by e-mail at jimmysettle@theleafchronicle.com.
