ADVISORY/Consumers Keep Home Prices Rising Throughout the West.

News Editors/Assignment Writers

ADVISORY...for Tuesday (July 2)

TO:       Business and economic writers/editors following the western
region

WHAT:     Consumers keep home prices rising throughout the West

          Consumer spending has been the primary driver of recovery in
          the West, fueling growth in retail trade, travel and
          tourism, and many service-producing industries. Nowhere is
          the resilience of consumers as apparent as in Western
          housing markets. Senior Economist at the Federal Reserve
          Bank of San Francisco Mary Daly examines data through the
          first quarter and questions what will happen to home prices
          going forward.

          Daly's research available in this quarter's Western Economic
          Developments (WED).

WHEN:     Now available on the Internet at:
          www.frbsf.org/publications/economics/wed/2002/wed0206bk.pdf

WHY:      The WED focuses on in-depth analysis of special economic
          topics in the region, providing information such as
          residential and commercial real estate, employment, and a
          special "High-tech Watch."

          Business and economics reporters who are researching the
          regional economy and are seeking neutral, third-party input
          to bring perspective to their stories may wish to view the
          FRBSF's Western Economic Developments and can contact its
          author, Senior Economist Mary Daly, directly at:
          [e-mail] or 415/974-3186.