February job growth stalls with only 20,000 new jobs added - The Labor Department reported that just 20,000 new jobs were added in February. It marked the fewest jobs added since September 2017. Experts predicted 180,000 new jobs. Considering January job growth was so robust we are have still added about 325,000 jobs for the year. The unemployment rate dropped to a 50 year low of 3.8%. Average hourly wages grew 3.4% from last February, the highest year over year increase since the current expansion began 10 years ago. Stocks down for the week - Fears of slowing global growth weighed heavily on investors as stock markets closed lower every day this week. The Bank of Canada, European Central Bank, and The Chinese Government all acknowledged that their economies had slowed and took measures to boost their economies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 25,450.24, down 2.2% from 26,026.32 last week. It’s up 9.1% year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,743.07, down 2.2% from 2,803.69 last week. It is up 9.4% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 7,408.14, down 2.5% from 7,595.35 last week. The NASDAQ is up 11.6% year to date. Treasury Bond Yields lower this week - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.62%, down from 2.76% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 3.00%, down from 3.13% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields. 30-year mortgage rate slightly higher in survey, but rates dropped at end of the week - The March 7, 2019 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.41%, up from 4.35% last week. The 15-year fixed was 3.83%, up from 3.77% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.87%, almost unchanged from 3.84% last week. Next week’s rates should be closer to last week’s rates. Author, Syd Leibovitch
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Economic update for the week ending February 23, 2019
US stock markets are up more than 18% in nine weeks - Stock markets have made up nearly all the declines suffered in the last three months of 2018. Indexes are now approaching their all time highs reached last fall. Experts point to investor’s renewed confidence based on three key issues: One: Progress in the US - China trade negotiations. In the third quarter of 2018 it appeared an all out trade war was beginning. Both countries began experiencing slowing in the economy. In fact, China’s economy showed drops in economic output, not the US. Fears that their slowing economy would impact ours spooked investors here. A deal was made to pause any further tariffs until March to give the two countries time to make a deal. While no official deal has been finalized that deadline has been extended, because talks are proceeding positively. It appears that a deal will include provisions for China to encourage more purchasing of US goods with targets to close the tremendous trade imbalance between the countries. Two: Corporate earnings beat expectations. Analysts had expected corporate earnings to weaken in the fourth quarter because economies in Europe and Asia had slowed. That did not happen. Three: Investors had grown cautious that interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve would slow the economy. Investors felt that the Fed had moved to quickly by hiking rates so many times over the last three years. Those fears added to a reason that the stock market began to collapse at the end of last year (December 2018 was the worst December stock market loss since the Great Depression). In reaction to that drop the Fed announced that they would pause further interest rate hikes. Minutes from their latest meeting released this week showed that members voted unanimously to leave rates unchanged, and that they were planning no hikes for 2019 if conditions remain unchanged. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 26,031.81, up 0.6% from 25,883-25 last week. It’s up 11.6% year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,792.67, up 0.6% from 2,775.50 last week. It is up 11.4% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 7,527.54, up 0.7% from 7,472.71 last week. The NASDAQ is up 13.4% year to date. Treasury Bond Yields almost unchanged this week - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.65%, down slightly slightly from 2.66% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 3.02% up slightly from 3.00% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields. 30-year mortgage rate at lowest level in one year - The February 21, 2019 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.35%, down from 4.37% last week. The 15-year fixed was 3.78%, down from 3.81% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.84%, down from 3.88% last week. January 2019 California existing home sales report - The California Association of Realtors released their data for January home sales. The number of sales dropped for the fourth straight month hitting the lowest level since April 2008. Closed escrows on existing homes dropped to 357,530 units on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis in January. That marked a 12.6% year over drop from 409,520 closings last January. This data is for closed escrows so we are talking about homes that went under contract between October and December. This was at the same time that the stock market dropped almost 20%. People were in a panic and that affected home purchases. Now that stocks have made back over 18% of those losses we see buyers returning to the market. Interest rates have also dropped to the lowest level in one year. We have seen a drastic improvement in the number of homes that have gone into escrow in the last two weeks. It’s like someone flipped a switch and homes are selling briskly again. Unfortunately, those homes won’t close escrow for 30-60 days so we won’t see the impact until March or April in the data. Those should be very positive reports when these sales begin to close. February’s home sales report will be another disappointing month because that is closings for homes that went under contract in December and January. The median price paid for a home in California was $538,690, up 2.1% year over year from $527,780 last January. The median price is the point at which 1/2 the homes sell for more and 1/2 sell for less. While we look at how low the median price is compared to prices in out market it’s easy to assume that it has nothing to do with us, but over the 30 years that I have been following this data it’s amazing at how neighborhoods at all price levels follow similar percent increases and decreases as the median price percentages. It’s a reliable indicator of what is going on across all price levels. Unfortunately, the median price is compared year over year. Nobody looks at six months ago until now. The median price is 2.1% higher than last January. Prices spiked in April, May and June when inventory hit all time lows. Prices increases were approaching 10% year over year for the first time since 2014. That corrected from July to October and prices actually dropped before stabilizing again. The median price is about 8% below its peak in June, but higher than last January. Interest rates have also fallen from their peak of 5% to about 4.3% making homes more affordable. Inventory levels have risen for the 10th consecutive month after dropping for three straight years to historic lows. There was a 4.6 month supply of homes for sale in January, up from a 3.6 month supply in January 2018. There are more choices for buyers. We are seeing many buyers that couldn’t find a home last year and gave up returning to the market. Author, Syd Leibovitch Economic update for the week ending February 16, 2019
Stock markets had another strong week - Stock markets surged again this week. The S&P which was down nearly 20% from its all time high in December is now just 6% below its all time high. It’s up 10.7% in just the first 6 weeks of the year. This week’s highlights: Investors were optimistic that a trade deal would be made soon ending the tariffs that have been put in place by both the US and China. President Trump said the March 1 deadline would be extended, leading investors to believe progress has been made. In fact, he said “it will be the best deal ever!” Another government shutdown was averted. Oil prices rose after Saudi Arabia agreed to cut output to reduce surplus oil levels which helped energy stocks. This all seemed to offset disappointing final December retail sales figures. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 25,883.25 up 3.1% from 25,106.33 last week. It’s up 11.0% year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,775.50, up 2.5% from 2,707.88 last week. It is up 10.7% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 7,472.41, up 2.4% from 7,298.20 last week. The NASDAQ is up 12.6% year to date. Treasury Bond Yields almost unchanged this week - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.66%, up slightly from 2.63% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 3.00%, up slightly from 2.97% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields. Mortgage rates continue to drop - Rates are at the lowest levels since February 2018 - The February 14, 2019 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.37%, down from 4.41% last week. The 15-year fixed was 3.81%, down from 3.84% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.88%, down from 3.91% last week. Homes were more affordable in the fourth quarter of 2018 - The California Association of Realtors announced that their home affordability index rose in the fourth quarter of 2018 to 28%, up from 27% in the third quarter, but still less affordable than one year ago when the affordability index stood at 29%. Lower prices and higher wages offset higher interest rates in the fourth quarter and affordability rose. In the fourth quarter the median priced detached home was $564,270. The California Association of Realtors reported that a minimum annual income of $122,340 was needed to qualify for a monthly payment of $3,060, including principal, interest and property taxes on a 30-year fixed loan of 4.95%. Affordability on a $460,000 median-priced condo or town-home was 37% in the fourth quarter of 2018. An annual income of $99,730 was needed to qualify for a monthly payment of $2,490. On a regional basis the affordability index in Los Angeles Country was 24%, up from 22% in the second quarter, but down from 25% in Q4 2017. In Orange County affordability was just 20% in both Quarter 3 and Q4 2018, down from 21% in Q4 2017. Ventura County Q4 affordability was 29%, up from 28% in Q3, and up from 26% in Q4 2017. Interest rates peaked in the fourth quarter of 2018. In October the 30-year fixed rate hit 5%! Rates are now down over one half percent. They are at the lowest levels in one year. That should boost affordability when the first quarter of 2019 figure is announced in May. Prices were also lower in the fourth quarter of 2018 than at their peak in the second quarter. In fact, it appears that the median price peak of $602,760 in June was an outlier, as buyer’s panicked just to get a home with inventory levels at record lows. Inventory levels rose in the fourth quarter and prices stabilized back down to first quarter 2018 levels. The median price was $564,760 and $557,600 In November and December respectively. I’m looking forward to seeing the first quarter 2019 affordability level. I won’t be surprised if affordability is back up to almost 30% as rates are lower, incomes which have been increasing about 3.2% annually are higher, and prices I expect will be about the same as in the fourth quarter. The California Association of Realtors has not released January sales data yet. That should be tabulated and released any day. I’ll update you with these figures next week. Have a great weekend, Syd Leibovitch Economic update for the week ending February 9, 2019 Stock markets ended the week almost unchanged after 5 weeks of solid gains - Stocks were mostly flat this week as renewed trade worries overshadowed a solid earnings reporting season. So far nearly two thirds of companies have reported earnings. Nearly three quarters of them beat expectations. The US and China agreed in December to hold off on any new tariffs until March 1, as it appeared that both countries’ economies were beginning to suffer. With that date approaching and no deal in place investors are getting anxious. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 25,106.33, up 0.2% from 25,063.89 last week. It’s up 7.6% year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,707.88, almost unchanged from 2,708.53 last week. It is up 8% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 7,298.20, up 0.5% from 7,263.87 last week. The NASDAQ is up 10% year to date. Treasury Bond Yields lower this week - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.63%, down from 2.70% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 2.97% down from 3.03% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields. Mortgage rates lower this week - Rates at the lowest levels since March 2018 - The February 7, 2019 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.41%, down from 4.46% last week. The 15-year fixed was 3.84%, down from 3.89% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.91%, down from 3.96% last week. We should be getting January real estate sales data at the end of next week. If that data is available it will be included in next weeks update. If not it will be the following week. The California Association of Real Estate usually has numbers tabulated and released by the third week of the month for the previous month. Have a great weekend! Author, Syd Leibovitch 304,000 new jobs created in January - The Bureau of Labor Statics reported that employers added 304,000 new jobs in January. That figure took experts by surprise and shattered their estimates of 170,000 new jobs. It marked 100 straight month of job gains. Furloughed government workers were not counted as unemployed, so the partial government shutdown did not affect these numbers. The unemployment rate rose to 4% from 3.9% in December. Its deceiving that the unemployment rate has risen. Usually that would signal less jobs and be negative economic news, but this time it actually signals that more people are feeling optimistic about job prospects and opportunities. They are entering the workforce and the labor participation rate is increasing. Wages also rose 3.2% from January 2018. That marked a third consecutive month of wage gains at the highest levels since the current expansion began. The only skepticism was that December’s job gains were revised from 312,000 all the way down to 222,000 which calls into question the accuracy of these unusually high initial monthly numbers. Stocks up again this week - Stock markets started the year strong! The S&P recorded the largest percentage gain in January since 1987, rebounding from its worst December loss since the Great Depression. Corporate earnings for the fourth quarter of 2018 are coming in higher than expected. The Federal Reserve voted unanimously to leave rates unchanged, and announced “a pause” in interest rate hikes. January’s job gains were almost double the number that experts predicted, and wage gains were strong. So far, the now ended, longest ever partial government shutdown has not shown to have negatively affected the markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 25,063.89, up 1.3% from 24,737.20 last week. It’s up 7.4% year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,706.53, up 1.6% from 2,664.76 last week. It is up 8% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 7,263.87, up 1.4% from 7,164.86 last week. The NASDAQ is up 9.5% year to date. Treasury Bond Yields lower this week - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.70%, down from 2.76% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 3.03%, down slightly from 3.06% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields. Mortgage rates almost unchanged this week - Rates at the lowest levels in 9 months - The January 31, 2019 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.46%, almost unchanged from 4.45% last week. The 15-year fixed was 3.89%, almost unchanged from 3.88% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.96%, up from 3.90% last week. December Southern California home sales - CoreLogic reported that the number of homes sold in Southern California fell 20.3%from the number of sales last December. That marked the fewest closed escrows on single family homes, which include both attached and detached dwellings, since December 2007, the start of the Great Recession. Prices rose just 1.1% from one year ago. It was the smallest year over year increase in the median price since prices began climbing in 2012. December’s median price of $515,000 was down about 5% from its all time high of $537,000 in June 2018. Fortunately, we have seen a strong pick-up in activity and more escrows opening in the past few weeks. Have a great weekend! Author, Syd Leibovitch Stock markets almost unchanged this week - After 4 weeks of solid gains, stocks held steady in a holiday shortened week. Stocks were down until Friday when they rallied as news of a deal to end the government shutdown was eminent. The strength of the stock market lies in investors’ confidence in strong employment and corporate earnings. Last week initial unemployment claims dropped below 200,000 for the first time since 1969. With about two thirds of the economy fueled by consumer spending, a decades low unemployment rate and higher wages are a positive sign. About 25% of companies have reported fourth quarter earnings. Profits are up about 13%. Analysts expect profits to rise 6% in 2019, down from double digit gains in 2018. Considering that 2018 profits were boosted by the corporate tax cut that was not in effect in 2017, a 6% increase was considered a healthy number. Stock markets have now made up about 13% of their losses from their lows on December 24. The Dow has gained 2,900 points since December 24. Weakness in the market includes investors’ fears of increased and prolonged tariffs and a trade war with China. President Trump and China agreed to take a “pause” while they try to negotiate a deal in late December. That has had a positive effect and has fueled a rebound in US stock markets. Economic growth overseas also has investors cautious. China’s economic growth has slowed to the lowest levels since their expansion began in 1990. Europe has shown signs of slowing in their economies. The UK is also facing both economic and political uncertainty as they struggle to leave the European Union. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 24,737.20 up 0.1% from 24,706.35 last week. It’s up 6% in January. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,664.76, down 0.2% from 2,670.71 last week. It is up 6.3% in January. The NASDAQ closed the week at 7,164.86, up 0.1% from 7,157.23 last week. The NASDAQ is up 8% this month.
Treasury Bond Yields almost unchanged this week - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.76%, down slightly from 2.79% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 3.06%, slightly down from 3.09% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields. Mortgage rates unchanged this week - Rates at the lowest levels in 9 months - The January 24, 2019 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.45%, unchanged from 4.45% last week. The 15-year fixed was 3.88%, unchanged from 3.88% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.90%, up slightly from 3.87% last week. Author, Syd Leibovitch Stocks higher for the fourth consecutive week - Stock markets gained about 3% this week. It marked the longest string of weekly gains since August 2018. Companies that reported fourth quarter earnings came in better than expected. China also made comments signaling that they would work to take steps to lower its trade imbalance with The U.S., which encouraged investors that a trade deal was getting closer. Stocks have now made up almost 1/2 of their losses since hitting an all time highs in September 2018. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 24,706.35, up 3.0% from 23,995.95 last week. It’s up 5.9% in January. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,670.71, up 2.9% from 2,596.48 last week. It is up 6.5% in January. The NASDAQ closed the week at 7,157.23, up 2.7% from 6,971.48 last week. The NASDAQ is up 7.9% this month.
Treasury Bond Yields up slightly this week - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.79%, up from 2.71% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 3.09%, up from 3.04% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields. Mortgage rates stable this week at the lowest levels in 9 months - The January 17, 2019 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.45%, unchanged from 4.55% last week. The 15-year fixed was 3.88%, unchanged from 3.89% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.87%, up slightly from 3.83% last week. December California existing home sales report - The California Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales totaled 372,260 in December on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis. That was down 2.4% from November and down 11.6% from last December. It marked the fewest sales in a month since January 2015. The statewide median price was $557,600, up 1.4% from December 2017. On a regional basis Los Angles County’s median price of $588,140 was up 1.8% from last December. Orange County had a median price of $785,000 , down 0.1% from December 2017. Ventura County’s median price of $640,000 was down 0.8% from last December. Inventory levels also continued to rise. The unsold inventory index was a 3.5 month supply of homes listed in California, up from 2.5 months in December 2017. Los Angeles Country had a 3.5 month supply, up from a 2.4 month supply last December. Orange County had a 4 month supply, down from 2.6 months last December. Ventura County had a 5.5 month supply, up from a 4 month supply in December 2017. Author, Syd Leibovitch Job growth surges in December - 312,000 new jobs added - The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that U.S. employer’s added 312,000 new jobs in December. That shocked analysts that had forecasted 178,000 new jobs.There were 2.6 million jobs added in 2018, up from 2.2 million new jobs in 2017. The unemployment rate rose to 3.9% from 3.7% in November, a 50 year low, as 419,000 new workers entered the workforce. Optimism about finding an acceptable job and higher wages were credited with expanding the workforce. Wages rose 3.2% from one year earlier, matching October’s year over wage gains which marked the largest year over year wage gain since April 2009.
Stocks closed higher for the second straight week - Stocks were down for the week before surging on Friday following a stellar jobs report and positive comments from Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell to end the week higher. The jobs report calmed investors fears that a recession may be looming. Comments by Fed chief Powell that interest rate increases would be paused due to low inflation and slowing economies overseas gave investors more good news. Thursday Apple lowered their profit estimates for 2019 based on slower sales. Asia and Europe reported slowing in economic growth which dragged down stocks. Friday the Dow gained 750 points to end the week higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 23,433.16, up 1.6% from 23,062.49 last week. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,531.94, up 1.9% from 2,485.74 last week. The NASDAQ closed the week at 6,738.96, up 2.3% from 6,584.62 last week. Treasury Bond Yields slightly lower - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.67%, down from 2.72% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 2.98%, down from 3.04% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields. Mortgage rates at the lowest levels in 8 months - The January 3, 2019 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.51%, down from 4.55% last week. The 15-year fixed was 3.99%, down from 4.01% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.98% , almost unchanged from 4.00% last week. The year end email and postcards will be ready once final housing numbers are released. That should be around the 17th of January. Here is some preliminary numbers we have so far. 2018 year end economic update The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 2108 at 23,327.46, down from 24,719.22 at the close of 2017. The S&P 500 closed the year at 2,506.85, down from 2,673.51 at the end of 2017. The NASDAQ closed at 6,635.28, down from 6,903.39 on December 31, 2017. U.S. Treasury Bond Yields higher in 2018 - The 10-year U.S. treasury bond closed the year at a 2.69% yield, up from 2.40% December 31, 2017. The 30-year treasury yield ended the year at 3.02%, up from 2.74% on Dec. 31, 2017. Mortgage Rates higher in 2018 - The December 28, 2017 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30 year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.55%, up from 3.99% on December 29, 2017. The 30-year fixed rate was over 5% in October before declining in November and December. The 15 year fixed was 4.01%, up from 3.44% last December. The 5-year ARM was 4.00%, up from 3.55% at the close of 2017. Author, Syd Leibovitch Economic update for the week ending December 29, 2018
Stocks rebound to end week higher - Stock markets snapped a three week losing streak to end the week higher. It was a wild week. Monday marked the largest Christmas eve loss ever. Tuesday markets were closed. Wednesday stocks had their best point gain in history, with the Dow up over 1,000 points! Thursday stocks were down all day, but rebounded with the Dow ending the day up over 200 points, a swing of over 800 points for the day. Friday the Dow lost 76 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 23,062.49, up from 22,445.37 last week. It is down 6.7% year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,485.74, up from 2,416.62 last week. It is down down 7% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 6,584.62, up from 6,332.99 last week. It is down 4.6% year to date. Treasury Bond Yields ended the week slightly lower - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.72%, down from 2.79% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 3.04%, unchanged from 3.03% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields. Mortgage rates near the lowest level of the year - The December 27, 2018 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.55%, down from 4.62% last week. The 15-year fixed was 4.01%, down from 4.07% last week. The 5-year ARM was 4.00%, almost unchanged from 3.98% last week. Southern California housing market was less active in November - CoreLogic reported this week that the number of homes sold in Los Angeles County fell 16% in November from the number of homes sold November 2017. The median price paid for a home in Los Angeles County was up 5.8% from one year ago. The median price in all of Southern California was up 3.5% from November 2017. 13% fewer homes sold in Southern California this November compared to last November. Author, Syd Leibovitch Economic update for the week ending December 22, 2018
Stock markets suffer the worst weekly loss this year - Stock markets officially entered correction territory and the NASDAQ is now in a bear market. It’s down 20% from its peak. Fears of higher interest rates after The Fed raised rates for the fourth time this year, increased trade tensions with China, slowing economic conditions in Europe and Asia, falling oil prices, fears of a government shutdown, and political tensions had investors running for cover. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the weekat 22,445.37, down from 24,100.51 last week. It was down 6.9% for the week and is now down 9.2% year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,416.62, down from 2,599.95 last week. It was down 7.1% for the week and is down 9.6% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 6,332.99, down from 6,910.77 last week. It was down 8.4% for the week and down 8.3% year to date. Treasury Bond Yields dropped this week as investors moved money from stocks to treasury bonds - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.79%, down from 2.89% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 3.03%, down from 3.14% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields. Mortgage rates remain at the lowest level in three months - The December 20, 2018 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.62%, unchanged from 4.63% last week. The 15-year fixed was 4.07%, unchanged from 4.07% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.98%, down from 4.04% last week. Rates ended the week slightly lower. California housing market continues to struggle in November - The California Association of Realtors reported that existing single-family home sales totaled 381,400 on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate in November. Year over year the number of homes sold was down 13.4% from last November. The statewide median price was $544,000, down 3% from October and up 1.5% from November 2017. The unsold inventory index was 3.7 months, up from 2.9 months last November. Author, Syd Leibovitch |
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