News

Did You Know?

- 03/01/21

Did You Know?

This year may have kicked off with the lowest mortgage interest rates in history, but the record lows aren't going to last. Rates are now starting to climb and are expected to continue heading higher throughout 2021. Just last week, mortgage rates rose to the highest point since August 2020. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage went up to 2.97%, almost half a percent lower than a year ago. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 2.34%. It marked the biggest one-week move since last March when the pandemic was beginning to unfold. (CNN)

Southern California real estate is booming everywhere, contrary to the narrative that speaks of Californians FLEEING en masse.....The median sales price across the six-county region reached $599,500 — a 13% increase from January 2020. The number of sales increased 13% year-over-year. January was the 6th consecutive month in which the regional median price increased by a double-digit percentage year-over-year and the 5th consecutive month in which the number of sales did so. (L.A. Times.)

Irvine-based Shopoff Realty Investments has released details on a $90 million luxury condominium community coming to Newport Beach, part of its $1.25 billion master-planned development at Uptown Newport. Expected to break ground in March, the Parkhouse Residences will be built on the 25-acre, two-phase development. The firm is building 30 condos among five buildings designed by WHA Architects, Design styles will come in a combination of half-floor flats and two-story penthouses with starting prices of around $1.9 million.

Did You Know?

- 02/08/21

Did You Know?

Some more good news: The number of workers seeking unemployment benefits fell for the 3rd straight week, a sign that layoffs have started to ease following an increase in early January. The total remained at a higher weekly level than before a winter surge in coronavirus cases and claims also remained well above the pre-pandemic peak of 695,000 and are still higher than in any previous recession for records tracing back to 1967.

The U.S. economy is expected to expand more rapidly in 2021 than projected in July, but it'll take several years for output to reach its full potential and for the number of employed workers to return to its pre-pandemic peak, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Annual growth is likely to average 2.6% through 2025. Expect modestly higher inflation and higher interest rates over the coming years than anticipated in July. (WSJ)

During 2020, the homeownership rate jumped to roughly 67%, up nearly 3% from a year earlier after remaining largely flat for a decade, according to the Census Bureau. Price appreciation is now outpacing wage appreciation in 90% of housing markets nationally, according to Attom Data Solutions. The median prices of single-family homes and condos are less affordable than historical averages in 63% of U.S. counties, up from 54% a year ago,(CNBC)

The personal savings rate rose to 13.7% last month, far higher than the pre-pandemic level of roughly 8%. Excluding last year, the savings rate is at the highest level since 1975. Households collectively saved $1.4 trillion in the first 9 months of 2020, about twice as much as what they saved in the same period in 2019. Now imagine just HALF of the difference flowing into the economy......(WSJ)

Did You Know?

- 11/23/20

Did You Know?

The US housing market remains strong: The NAHB Housing Market Index for November rose to an all-time high of 90 from 85. All three components of the index registered record highs, indicating that builders are extremely optimistic about current and future conditions in the housing market. Housing starts accelerated in October to 4.9% month-on-month, beating expectations of a 3.2% increase.

Office Leasing activity halved during the 3rd quarter compared with the same period of 2019, according to JLL. In the U.S., the decline was even sharper at 55%. (WSJ) Having a designated home office has never been more appealing to potential buyers.

For the 13th time in 2020, mortgage rates set a new weekly record low on Thursday, according to data that Freddie Mac has been compiling for nearly 50 years. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit 2.81 percent for the week ending November 19, a drop from 2.84 percent the week prior.

Did You Know?

- 11/23/20

Did You Know?

The US housing market remains strong: The NAHB Housing Market Index for November rose to an all-time high of 90 from 85. All three components of the index registered record highs, indicating that builders are extremely optimistic about current and future conditions in the housing market. Housing starts accelerated in October to 4.9% month-on-month, beating expectations of a 3.2% increase.

Office Leasing activity halved during the 3rd quarter compared with the same period of 2019, according to JLL. In the U.S., the decline was even sharper at 55%. (WSJ) Having a designated home office has never been more appealing to potential buyers.

For the 13th time in 2020, mortgage rates set a new weekly record low on Thursday, according to data that Freddie Mac has been compiling for nearly 50 years. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit 2.81 percent for the week ending November 19, a drop from 2.84 percent the week prior.