Kacey Carnes, Author at Harvester Financial Credit Union

The Best Road-Trip Vehicles, Chosen by Edmunds

The editors at vehicle valuation specialist Edmunds have chosen their favorite road-trip vehicles. “We surveyed more than 500 Edmunds shoppers and discovered that 80 percent of them have either taken, planned to take or would like to take a road trip this summer, so it’s obvious that the road trip remains as popular as ever,”…

Improve Your Home’s Water Usage

Virginia-based HVAC, plumbing and electrical company Southern Trust Home Services is offering timely ways to reduce the new school year’s impact on homeowners’ water consumption – just as the new school year is set to begin. According to the EPA, the average family in the United States uses more than 300 gallons of water per day, and…

National Thrift Store Day Is This Friday

If you haven\’t been to your local thrift store in a while, perhaps this Friday would be a good time for a visit. That because August 17 has been designated as National Thrift Store Day. According to The Association of Resale Professionals — via the U.S. Census Bureau — there are currently more than 25,000…

The Average New-Vehicle Transaction Price Is Now $35,359, According to KBB

America\’s love of SUVs, Crossovers and Trucks – and a corresponding decline in the popularity of cars – is pushing new vehicle prices ever higher, according to a new report from Kelley Blue Book. The analysts at Kelley Blue Book today reported the estimated average transaction price for light vehicles in the United States was $35,359 in July 2018. New-vehicle…

Employer Costs for Pay and Benefits Accelerate

The amount employers paid out in compensation for civilian workers increased 0.6 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-month period ending in June 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. Wages and salaries (which make up about 70 percent of compensation costs) increased 0.5 percent and benefit costs (which make up the remaining 30 percent…

Half of All U.S. Homes Are More Valuable than Pre-Recession Peak, According to Zillow

A decade after the U.S. housing market crashed, half of the country’s homes have regained the value they lost during the recession, according to the June Real Estate Market Report from online real estate company Zillow. Nationally, the median home value is $217,300, up 8.3 percent over the past year and 8.4 percent above the highest point…

U.S. Median Home Price Appreciation Decelerates

U.S. single family homes and condos sold for a median price of $255,000 in the second quarter, up 6.3 percent from a year ago to a new all-time high but the slowest annual appreciation since Q2 2016, according to property database curator ATTOM Data Solutions. “Annual home price appreciation nationwide has now slowed for five consecutive quarters…

Which Industries Are Growing the Strongest?

Here\’s an interesting report that breaks down economic growth (GDP growth) by industry. Published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the report goes beyond the singular top-line number, to show which industries are doing well, which are doing really well, and which ones are lagging. First, the top-line number. Growth is strong. Economy-wide, real gross…

Who Gets Health Care Benefits at Work?

Medical care benefits were available to 69 percent of private industry workers and 89 percent of state and local government workers in March 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. In private industry, access to employer-sponsored medical care benefits varied by establishment size. Fifty-five percent of private industry workers in small establishments (those with…

Less Love for Waterfront? Buyers Aren’t Paying the Same Premium

The premium for living on the water isn’t as high it used to be. Homes along the water sold for a 36 percent premium in the first quarter of 2018, according to a new analysis from online real estate company Zillow. Zillow said the extra cost for waterfront living is at its lowest level since the…