Ioanna Kamar

Economic update for the week ending December 12, 2020 Stock markets closed lower this week after three weeks of gains - Stocks dropped slightly as new unemployment claims surged for a second week. This was a result of layoffs due to increased shutdowns of non-essential businesses throughout the country. Markets held up well considering the exponential spread of new COVID-19 cases, because the FDA moved toward approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. It’s the first of se...veral vaccines to be approved. Experts report that vaccinations will start as early as Monday. A long-awaited COVID-19 relief bill failed to materialize again this week. It was reported that a deal was going to be approved on Monday, but fell apart later in the week as the sides could not agree on key issues. An emergency stop-gap one week spending bill to fund the government averted a shutdown for a week. Hopefully a COVID-19 relief bill will be attached to a more permanent government funding bill. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 30,046.37, down 0.6% from 30,218.26 last week. It’s up 5.4% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 3,663.46, down 0.1% from 3,699.12 last week. It is up 14.4% year-to-date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 12,377.87, down 0.7% from 12,464.23 last week. It’s up 38.0% year-to-date. U.S. Treasury bond yields - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 0.90%, down from 0.97% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 1.63%, down from 1.73% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates often follow treasury bond yields. Mortgage rates - The December 10, 2020, Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 2.71%, unchanged from 2.71% last week. The 15-year fixed was 2.26%, unchanged from 2.26% last week. The 5-year ARM was 2.79%, down from 2.86% last week. November home sale figures will be released next week. CAR will be reporting that November home sales rose above 500,000 units on an adjusted annualized rate for the first time in 11 years! It’s the highest number of sales in November ever, and will represent a year over increase of approximately 20% from the number of homes sold last November. Prices will also show an increase of nearly 20% year over year. Price increases in the last quarter added over $1 trillion in home equity. Showings last week also increased. They were 170% above the number of showings for the same period one year ago. It is surprising to see such results in the middle of a pandemic! Have a great weekend!

Economic update for the week ending November 21, 2020 Stock markets unchanged this week Investors bought stocks based on positive news showing that several COVID-19 vaccines are close to being approved for distribution. They also sold stocks based on fear that surging COVID-19 cases were causing further restrictions that will curtail business growth throughout the country. Unemployment claims unexpectedly rose this week which was further evidence that the re-opening of the ...economy has begun to show some signs of reversing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 29,293.48, down 0.7% from 29,471.81 last week. It’s up 2.5% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 3,557.54, down 0.8% from 3,585.15 last week. This is a record close. It’s up 10.1% year-to-date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 11,854.97, down 0.2% from 11,829.28 last week. It’s up 32.1% year-to-date. U.S. Treasury bond yields - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 0.83%, down from 0.89% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 1.53%, up from 1.65% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates often follow treasury bond yields. Mortgage rates - The November 19, 2020, Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 2.72%, down from 2.84% last week. The 15-year fixed was 2.28%, down from 2.34% last week. The 5-year ARM was 2.85%, down from 3.11% last week. The California Association of Realtors reported that existing, single-family home sales totaled 484,510 on an annualized basis in October. That represented a year over year increase of 19.5% from the number of homes sold in October 2019. The median price paid for a home in California was $711,300, up 17.5% from the median price last October. Inventory levels were lower than one year ago. There was just a two-month supply of homes for sale in October. That is unchanged from September, as new listings also increased to meet demand. One year ago, the unsold inventory index stood at a 3-month supply. Have a great weekend!

Economic update for the week ending November 14, 2020 Stock markets - Stocks advanced further this week after the announcement that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine had proven to be 90% effective. By week’s end other vaccine manufactures also reported that they were experiencing similar results. The Trump administration announced that the vaccine will be available to the most vulnerable by the end of the year. Despite COVID-19 cases spiking in across the country, and Europe, the thr...eat of stay at homes orders in some states, anticipation of a vaccine kept investors optimistic. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 29,471.81, up 4.1% from 28,343.40 last week. It’s up 3.3% year-to-date. (The all-time record high for the DOW was 29,553 on 12, 2020.) The S&P 500 closed the week at 3,585.15, up 2.2% from 3,509.44 last week. This is a all-time record close. It’s up 11% year-to-date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 11,829.28, down 0.6% from 11,895.23 last week. It’s up 31.8% year-to-date. U.S. Treasury bond yields - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 0.89%, up from 0.83% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 1.65%, up from 1.60% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates often follow treasury bond yields. Mortgage rates - The November 12, 2020, Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 2.84%, up from 2.78% last week. The 15-year fixed was 2.34%, almost unchanged from 2.32% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.11%, up from 2.89% last week (this is not a popular product and not many lenders are offering it). California third quarter home affordability report - Every quarter the California Association of Realtors issues a housing affordability report. They have reported that a surge in home prices made homes less affordable in the third quarter of 2020. They reported that 28% of California households could afford to purchase a $693,680 median priced home in the third quarter of 2020. That brought home affordability down from 33% in the second quarter. It was 31% one year ago. A minimum annual income of $127,200 was needed to qualify for a monthly payment of $3,180. The California Association of Realtors always uses the same formula to remain consistent. It is the principal, interest, property tax and insurance payment on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage with 20% down. The average interest rate in the third quarter was 3.15%. Condominiums and townhomes were more affordable. They found that 42% of California households were able to purchase a $512,000 median priced condo or townhome. An annual income of $94,000 was needed to qualify for the monthly payment of $2,350. Rates were lower at the end of the quarter, but prices were higher. It will be interesting to see what the fourth quarter figures are. Have a great weekend!