Economic update for the week ending May 18, 2019

Economic update for the week ending May 18, 2019

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 25,764.00, down 0.7% from 25,942.37 last week.   It’s up 10.4% year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,859.53, down 0.8% from 2,881.40 last week. It is up 14.1% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 7,816.28, down 1.3%, from 7,916.94 last week.  The NASDAQ is up 17.8% year to date. 
 
Treasury Bond Yields continue to drop - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.39%, down from 2.47% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 2.82%, down from 2.89%  last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yield yields. 
 
Mortgage rates almost unchanged this week - The  May 16, 2019 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.07%, down slightly from 4.10% last week. The 15-year fixed was 3.54%, down slightly from 3.57% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.66%, slightly higher from 3.63%  last week.


Lower rates and moderating prices made California homes more affordable in Q1 2019 - The California Association of Realtors reported that the percentage of home buyers who could afford to purchase a median priced home in California rose to 32% in the first quarter of 2019. It is up from 28% in the fourth quarter of 2018, and up from 31% for the first quarter of 2018. The minimum annual income of $114,860 was needed to purchase a $545,820 statewide median-prices existing single family home.Condos and townhomes were more affordable. 41% or California households could afford a median priced Condominium or townhome. That was up from 37% in the last quarter of 2018. 


California home prices soar in April - prices hit new statewide median price record - The California Association of Realtors reported that the median price paid for a resale home in April was $602,920, up 6.5%, month over month, from $565,880 in March. Year over year the median price was up 3.8% from $584,460 last April. Prices dropped in the last six months in 2018, but have soared in April to exceed the peak levels set last June. The number of existing home sales in California totaled 396,769on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, down 4.8% from the number of homes sold last April. The unsold inventory index showed a 3.4 month supply of homes for sale, up from a 3.2 month supply one year ago. On a regional basis the median price paid for a home in Los Angeles County rose 3%, Orange County rose  0.9%, and Ventura County dropped 2.3% from April 2018. 


Author, 


Syd Leibovitch