L.A. real estate news and insights.
The net value of property in Los Angeles County jumped 5.91% from last year to nearly $2 trillion, according to the county assessor's office.
It's the 13th consecutive year that the overall value of all taxable properties included in the more than 4,000-square-mile county has gone up, according to the Los Angeles County Assessor's 2023 Annual Report. The assessor's office estimates that it will collect $20 billion in property taxes to fund public services such as schools and medical care.
Pending home sales fell this fall to the lowest level since 2001. Pending deals dropped 8.5% year-to-year as the National Association of Realtors index fell to 71.4, the lowest mark reported since the trade group began tracking the metric in 2001.
My Take: There will be huge pent up demand in 2024.
Source: National Association of Realtors and The Real Deal
Fannie Mae has lowered their required down payment for owner-occupied, multi-family (2-4 unit) properties from 15% - 25% to 5%. This means you can buy a property with 5% down, live in one unit, and rent out the other 1-3 units.
The new policy took effect on November 18, 2023 and applies to several Fannie Mae mortgage types including conventional and renovation loans.
If you’ve wanted to buy a home but haven’t been able to figure out how to save enough for a down payment and meet your monthly mortgage payment requirements, your time has come.
Source: Crosscountry Mortgage
The national median price of an existing home sold in October was $391,800, an increase of 3.4% from a year ago ($378,800). Prices rose in all regions of the country.
These annual price increases have been getting larger for four straight months.
Roughly 28% of homes sold above list price.
Source: CNBC
Manny Pacquiao... what happened here?
This Mediterranean-style home has 5 bed/5.5 bath and 4,273 sq. ft. of living space.
The 2-story home features an open layout, high ceilings, a gourmet kitchen, a pool, and a spa.
Asking price: $4,500,000
Selling price: $2,000,000
Mortgage rates fell again today, 11/14/23. The average rate on the 30-year mortgage fell 18 basis points to 7.40%.
The bond market rallied after government data showed inflation was lower than expected.
Wall Street has started to lower its expectations for more Federal Reserve rate hikes ahead.
Source: Diana Olick from CNBC
Here is a little good news for the holiday season.
Economic news spelled better news for home buyers who are shopping for a mortgage, even after the Federal Reserve’s latest rate hike.
Mortgage rates continued to dial back as new economic data shows inflation cooling off. Freddie Mac reported last Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.31%. Rates have been decreasing ever since hitting a high of 7.08% last month.
At their last meeting in June, the Fed had a 75-basis point increase. That played a big part in the mortgage interest rates shooting up like crazy.
The Fed will now meet again at the end of July. Many economists predict the Fed will tighten its monetary policy further to control inflation. That could lead to another 75- or 100-basis point increase in the Fed’s short-term benchmark rate. While the Fed’s benchmark rate does not directly impact mortgage rates, it does influence them.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said following the Fed’s last rate hike in June—its largest since 1994—that the buyer pool could shrink even further as mortgage rates increase.
Elevated inflation and the Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening policy drove the latest leap in mortgage rates this week. Since the beginning of this year, mortgage rates have jumped by 1.2%. The typical home buyer would need to spend $250 more every month to be able to purchase a home, Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of forecasting for the National Association of REALTORS®, writes on the association’s blog.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage moved up to a 4.42% average this week, more than a quarter of a percentage point compared to last week, Freddie Mac reports in its latest mortgage market survey. Rates continued to rise across loan types. “Rising inflation, escalating geopolitical uncertainty, and the Federal Reserve’s actions are driving rates higher and weakening consumers’ purchasing power,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “In short, the rise in mortgage rates, combined with continued house price appreciation, is increasing monthly mortgage payments and quickly affecting home buyers’ ability to keep up with the market.”
30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.42%, with an average of 0.8 points, rising from last week’s 4.16% average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.17%.
Source: Freddie Mac and “Instant Reaction: Mortgage Rates, March 24, 2022,” National Association of REALTORS® Economists’ Outlook blog (March 24, 2022)
Housing costs are one of the top three categories causing inflation in the U.S. to surge, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Thursday. The largest items in households’ budgets—shelter, gasoline, and food—were the main culprits in February that fueled the highest inflation rates since 1982.
The Consumer Price Index, which measures price fluctuations in goods and services, increased 7.9% in February compared to a year earlier.
“There’s nowhere to hide,” Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate, told CNBC. “This is hitting everybody … [with inflation] most pronounced on items that are necessities.”
Household grocery bills increased 8.6% over the last year; that is the fastest pace since 1981. Gasoline prices are up 38% compared to a year ago, although that statistic does not reflect the latest increases at the pump following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Shelter costs such as rents are up 4.7% compared to last year. That is the highest since May 1991. “That comparatively benign increase … is likely to put the biggest squeeze on household budgets for the remainder of the year,” McBride told CNBC. Housing comprises more than a third of households’ average budgets.
Also, mortgage rates rose this week in response to higher inflation, averaging 3.85%, Freddie Mac reports.
“While it’s too soon to know how the war in Ukraine will affect the U.S. economy, it seems that it will continue to put upward pressure on inflation,” Nadia Evanelou, senior economist and director of forecasting at the National Association of REALTORS®, writes on the association’s blog.
In an attempt to try to tame inflation, the Federal Reserve is expected to start raising its short-term interest rates next week.
Source: “There Is ‘Nowhere to Hide’ for Consumers as Inflation Hits Food, Gas, Housing,” CNBC (March 10, 2022) and “Instant Reaction: Mortgage Rates, March 10, 2022,” National Association of REALTORS® Economists’ Outlook blog
Rising inflation is pressing on Americans across the economic spectrum with costs for groceries to gasoline increasing. In November, consumer prices increased by 6.8% compared to a year ago, the largest annual gain in the past 40 years.
Some of the highest increases occurred for energy, shelter, cars, and food, which comprise about 61% of consumer purchases and account for 81% of inflation over the past 12 months, MarketWatch reports.
Renters may be feeling the impact. Rents are up 3% and accelerating at about 5% annually, says Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of REALTORS®.
Also, heating bills are increasing; natural gas prices have jumped by 25%.
Yun also warns that the increase in inflation is a primary reason that mortgage rates will likely rise in 2022. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is predicted to reach 3.7% by the end of 2022. Rates averaged 3.10% last week, according to Freddie Mac.
“One aspect of inflation is that real estate has proven to be a good hedge,” Yun says.
As he explains in a recent statement:
“In the 1970s, a high inflationary period when [the Consumer Price Index] averaged 7.1% per year, home price gains outpaced inflation with a 9.9% gain. Even when interest rates soared in the 1980s and thereby crushed home sales, home prices still held up to consumer price inflation: 5.5% versus 5.6%. That’s because rents are soaring. Other decades also show similar patterns. Therefore, for those concerned about the loss in purchasing power of money and savings, be assured that real estate has proven to be a good hedge against inflation.”
Source: “Instant Reaction: Consumer Price Index, December 10, 2021,” National Association of REALTORS® Economists’ Outlook blog and “Inflation Is Running Rampant in the U.S.—Here’s Where It Is, and Isn’t,” MarketWatch (Dec. 11, 2021).
