Economy/Ecommerce

Reis Inc. reported on Wednesday that the national apartment vacancy rate was 4.6 percent during the third quarter, down a notch from 4.7 percent during the previous quarter.

Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased year-over-year by 4.6 percent in August compared to August 2011, according to CoreLogic.

The Census Bureau reported on Monday that U.S. construction spending edged down 0.6 percent in August compared with July, with both private and public construction spending off a bit.

There was a disconnect between a rise in consumer spending and a rise in personal income during August, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Friday, and it didn’t bode well for the U.S. economy.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released its final estimate of U.S. GDP growth on Thursday, the one that will be cited forever more, and it wasn’t good tidings for the U.S. economy.

According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, which were released on Tuesday, average U.S. home prices increased by 1.5 percent for the 10-city composite index and by 1.6 percent for the 20-city composite index in July 2012 compared with June.

Two different branches of the Federal Reserve issued economic reports on Monday, one not particularly sanguine about the U.S. economy, the other more hopeful about a region whose relatively strong economy has gotten some attention lately.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that regional and state unemployment rates had little change in August.