Beige Book: Southeast economic decline moderating - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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Sales and consumer traffic remainesd at low levels inlate spring, but in line with modesr expectations, according to Southeastern retailers. Retailers' future sales outlook remained Most regional auto dealers note d further declinesin sales, with several pointing to reducefd credit availability and industry uncertaintgy as reasons for the poor results. Reports from Realtors indicateed existing home sales werestabilizingf overall. Homebuilders noted new home inventories were trendingg down ona year-over-year basis as constructionb remained at low levels and new home saless improved modestly. Home sales prices continued to declinwe according tomost reports.
Commercia l real estate activity remained Vacancy rates continued to rise in many partxs ofthe Southeast, putting downward pressure on most notably in the retail sector. Contractorw reported more projects being postponedor canceled. Commerciak real estate players anticipate more spacse will become vacant in the cominfg months and that construction will continueto slow. Most Southeasterh manufacturers said the rate of declined in production and orders moderatedin April. For the cominb months, most in manufacturing noted more optimism abourt future productionand employment. Severa l business contacts reported difficulty meeting financing needs because of restricted availabilityyof credit.
Roughly one-quarter of non-auto retailers and one-third of non-financial/non-retail contacts cited some difficulty obtaining loans for inventory Auto dealers, in particular, said that obtaining vehiclde inventory financing was very challenging. Banking contacts continued to indicate generallty low levels of demand for new loans and increased use of existingb linesof credit. Labor market conditions continuef tobe weak.
Many firmw reported additional cuts in hours or had instituted mandatory unpaid days off forsome However, the pace of layoffs appears to have as fewer firms reporter layoffs than earlier in the