Did you know?
- 12/20/22
Nationally, rents fell 0.4% from October to November, the largest one-month decline in the seven-year history of the Zillow Observed Rent Index. This comes on top of a 0.1% decline in October, and decisively closes the door on a period of nearly two years of above-average monthly rent increases that began in November 2020. (Zillow)
A few notable mortgage rates moved downward today. The average interest rates for both 15-year fixed and 30-year fixed mortgages decreased. The average rate of the most common type of variable-rate mortgage, the 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage, also sank. For a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, the average rate you'll pay is 6.60%, which is a decline of 3 basis points from one week ago. The average rate for a 15-year, fixed mortgage is 5.99%, which is a decrease of 2 basis points from seven days ago. A 5/1 ARM has an average rate of 5.46%, a slide of 2 basis points from the same time last week (CNET)
Did you know?
- 11/14/22
The consumer price index increased 7.7% annually and 0.4% monthly. That yearly figure is the slowest rate since January. But more important is the slowdown in core CPI, which is a better gauge of inflation because it strips out volatile food and gas prices. Core CPI rose 0.3% monthly in October, a big drop from 0.6% in September and August.
Election update: The balance of power in DC became only a bit clearer yesterday as votes continue to be counted in competitive House and Senate races. The GOP appears on track to eke out a win in the House, but they still need to win two of the three outstanding Senate races to gain control of that chamber. Meanwhile, in a surprisingly close House race in Colorado, Democrat Adam Frisch and incumbent GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert are separated by a razor-thin margin that could trigger a recount.
Did you know?
- 10/29/22
The average 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate is 7.32%, which is a growth of 15 basis points from one week ago, however rate buy downs are becoming more widespread and can be a great strategy to drastically increase affordability for buyers when negotiating a purchase. If you’re interested in seeing how this strategy can be used please reach out here.
The average price for a gallon of regular gas fell across Newport Beach to its lowest level since at least 2019 on Thursday, according to the latest figures from AAA. "Prices are rapidly dropping because the supply and refinery issues that caused them to skyrocket in September and early October were resolved when the state allowed early sales of winter blend gasoline, easing the supply crisis.
Did You Know?
- 10/11/22
The September jobs report on Friday showed the U.S. economy gained 263,000 jobs last month, with the unemployment rate falling to 3.55 to 3.7%.
“The labor market is too hot for the Fed. I think it keeps them on a pretty aggressive tightening path. I expect another 75 basis point hike in November. They can hopefully moderate and reduce the size of rate hike to 50 basis points in December,” said Kathy Bostjancic, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, in an interview with MarketWatch.
Inventory is still at record lows, the flow of new for-sale listings coming on the market remained anemic, down 16.2% from last year, much like August’s 16.5% year-over-year decline.