Below is an excerpt from the most recent edition of WisBusiness Tuesday Trends.
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RISING
Housing: Sales of existing homes grew 18.3 percent last month compared to January 2012 according to the latest monthly report from the Wisconsin Realtors Association, continuing a trend of double-digit growth. In addition, the group said median home prices also increased 3.4 percent to $123,000 over that same period. WRA officials said the January numbers — typically the low-water mark for sales volume — bode well for the spring. They also note that the regions showing the strongest sales growth — northern and central Wisconsin — had strong vacation home markets, a sector particularly hard-hit during the recession.
MIXED
Venture capital: Gov. Scott Walker announces plans to begin tackling one of the major unfinished agenda items from his first two years in office: ramping up venture capital investment in the state. But the heavy lifting on the issue remains to be completed. Walker says his budget will include a $25 million investment that will be meant as a placeholder for a future funding proposal to be worked out by lawmakers. Walker says the amount will be added with “no strings attached” so a deal can be worked out, saying he hopes the modest total would survive legislative scrutiny. The governor had previously said he was leery of including a venture capital proposal in the budget without the details resolved, since lawmakers could simply move that money toward other priorities. But he says his administration ultimately decided $25 million would be the right amount to get started. Venture capital backers express optimism that the initial amount could be a good start — provided the Legislature can pass a bill creating a state-run fund-of-funds, a master fund that would co-invest in other venture capital funds with private investors. But the $25 million falls far short of the hoped-for target when a venture capital proposal first surfaced two years ago. A Wisconsin Technology Council paper once recommended a state investment of $350 million, while as recently as late 2012, a governor’s task force came out with a proposal recommending $100 million.
FALLING
Highland Wind Farm: The three-member state Public Service Commission votes 2-1 to reject an application for a 44-turbine, 102.5 megawatt wind farm in western Wisconsin, with the opponents of the Highland Wind Farm arguing they needed to see a better demonstration that noise from the turbines would not exceed PSC standards. Critics of the turbines praised the decision, with one GOP lawmaker saying the decision was a step in the right direction to protect nearby families. The commissioners note, however, that the backers of the Highland project may resubmit their application, and an Emerging Energies spokesman says the group intends to do so.
