Other Data

Housing Prices

Median home price, when used with Median Family Income, can give a valid estimate of housing affordability. The State of Indiana, and especially this area, has historically enjoyed a low cost of living relative to other parts of the country, in part due to the relatively low cost of housing in the state. The UPSTAR - the Upstate Alliance of REALTORS supplies information on the total number of existing single family homes sold in this area (Allen County) in a given month, and calculates the median price. The median is the value in an ordered set in which there is an equal number of values below and above this number (or if there is an equal number of values in a set, the median is the average of the two middle values). The median is not the same as the mean, which can be greatly influenced by extreme values, which is highly possible in house sales in a given month.

Median Price for March 2013 for Allen County was $107,500.

Data:
Median Price of Homes in Allen County
Median Price of Homes in Allen County and the United States

Source:
UPSTAR - the Upstate Alliance of REALTORS
National Association of Realtors
Copyright National Association of Realtors®. Reprinted with permission.

Vehicle Sales

Car and truck sales represent one of the few timely measures available of retail durable goods activity in the Fort Wayne area. Retail durable goods sales typically are a good proxy of short-run changes in the area economy. Changes in interest rates and/or employment typically result in immediate changes in new auto and truck sales. The data are provided through the generous cooperation of the Fort Wayne new car dealerships. Over the long run, sales are affected by the number of dealers in the Fort Wayne, changes in buying or leasing, sales made by non-association dealers, etc. Accordingly, the data series should not be viewed as an indicator or changes in retail durable goods sales in the Fort Wayne area over the long run.

Data:
New Auto and Truck Sales, Allen County
Total New Vehicle Sales, Allen County and the United States

Source:
Fort Wayne New Car Dealers Association
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

CPI/Inflation

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the ratio of the value of a basket of goods in the current year to the value of that same basket of goods in an earlier year. It measures the average level of prices of the goods and services typically consumed by an urban American family. (Parkin, 1990) At least two CPIs are published: 1) The CPI for ALL URBAN Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 87 percent of the population, and 2) the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 32 percent of the total population. CRI reports the CPI-U. The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, transportation, medical care, and other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. In calculating the Index, price changes for the various items in 87 locations are averaged together with weights which represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Indexes for different months are usually compared in relative terms. Thus, an index of 133.5 is 1.063 times higher than an index of 125.6; in other words, prices increased 6.3 percent. CPIs for regions are also calculated. For example, CRI reports the CPI for Midwest Urban areas. Other CPI-Us are also available, such as MSAs with a population of more than 1.5 million, non-metro areas with a population of less than 50,000, etc.

Data:
Regional Inflation (Midwest Urban)
Regional and National Inflation
Annual Regional and National Inflation

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Enplanements

Enplanements are the count of passengers boarding commercial carriers at Fort Wayne International Airport. The data series may contain information as to short run changes in economic activity in the Fort Wayne area; however, it should be viewed with caution: airline scheduling and ticket prices from Fort Wayne (versus other competing airports) and other "outside" factors obviously impact enplanements.

Data:
Enplanements at Fort Wayne International Airport

Source: Fort Wayne Airport Authority