David Becker Real Estate

Economic Update For The Week Ending October 31, 2020 Stock markets Stocks dropped drastically this week as COVOID-19 cases have spiked in almost every state. The largest drops occurred Thursday as a reaction to France, and Germany initiated COVID-19 lockdowns. Investors do not feel that the U.S. will go back to shutting down the economy but do fear that the re-opening will stall, and it will take longer than expected to return to normal. They also believe that Europe’s shu...tdown will severely affect their economy which was recovering from shutdowns earlier in the year. Congress’ failure to pass another round of stimulus also was a drag on stocks this month, but investors still feel certain that a large stimulus package will be passed after the election. This did not have the effect that the increase in COVID-19 cases had. It should be noted that third quarter corporate profits have been extremely strong, and the third quarter preliminary GDP increased 33.1% on an annualized bases from the second quarter when much of the country was under shut down. Output is still below one year ago, but we have been on the right track. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 26,501.60, down 6.5% from 28,335.67 last week. It’s down 7.1% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 3,269.96, down 5.6% from 3,465.39 last week. It’s up 1.2% year-to-date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 10,911.59, down 5.4% from 11,548.58 last week. It’s up 21.6% year-to-date. Mortgage rates - The October 29, 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 2.81%, unchanged from 2.80% last week. The 15-year fixed was 2.32%, almost unchanged from 2.33% last week. The 5-year ARM was 2.88%, almost unchanged from 2.87% last week. U.S. Existing-home sales soared in September - The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales in September rose 6.4% month-over-month from August and rose 21% year-over-year from the number of homes sold in September 2019. The median price paid for a home increased 15% from one year ago. The inventory level in the United States was 1.47 million homes, a 2.7-month supply. That is a record low.

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Considering we are still in the middle of a pandemic, this is quite remarkable: U.S. existing-home sales and prices soared in August - The National Association of Realtors reported that U.S. existing-home sales hit $6 million in August on a seasonally adjusted yearly basis. The number of homes sold in August was 10.5% higher than August 2019. That marked the highest number of homes sold in a month since December 2006. Prices also surged. Nationally the median price paid for ...a home jumped 11.4% from one year ago. If you've been thinking of selling.... call me. If you've been thinking of buying... call me.

California existing-housing sales recorded record results in July! - The California Association of Realtors announced that existing, single-family home sales in July totaled 437,890 on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate. That marked a staggering month-over-month increase of 28.8% from the number of sales in June. Year-over-year sales were up 6.6% from July 2019. July 2019 had a pretty healthy sales rate, so a 6.6% increase is remarkable considering that we are in the mid...dle of a pandemic. Existing-home sales are recorded sales. These represent homes that went under contract mostly in May and June. The state-wide median price also hit a record high. It was $666,320. That marked a 6.4% increase month-over-month from June, and a 9.6% increase year-over-year from July 2019. The median price is the point at which one half the homes sell for more and one half sell for less. Historic low interest rates with 30-year fixed at or under 3% combined with tight inventory levels have pushed prices up. The unsold inventory index in July dropped to a 2.1-month supply of housing from a 3.2-month supply one year ago. The index indicates the number of months it would take to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current rate of sales. See more

Economic update for the week ending July 18, 2020 Stocks markers higher for the third straight week - Investors were encouraged by another surge in retail sales, the largest industrial production increase in 60 years, positive economic data from China and Europe, and research showing vaccine trials had been successful in immunizing participants. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 26,671.95 up 2.3% from 26,075.30 last week. It’s down 6.5% year to date. The S...&P 500 closed the week at 3,224.73, up 1.2% from 3,184.04 last week. It’s down 0.2% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 10,503.19, down 1.1% from 10,617.44 last week. It’s up 17.1% year to date. 30-year fixed rates drop below 3% - The July 16, 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 2.98%, down from 3.03% last week. The 15-year fixed was 2.48%, down from 2.51% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.06%, up from 3.02% last week. Existing home sales rebound in June - The California Association of Realtors announced that existing home sales surged 42.4% in June from May‘s sales totals. Existing home sales totaled 339,910 on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate in June. That was down 12.8% from June 2019. Fortunately, pending sales have also increased dramatically. The California Association of Realtors expect sales to be back to pre-pandemic levels by July or August. Prices also surged in June. The state-wide median price paid for a home in June was $626,170. That represented a 6.5% increase from May and a 2.5% increase from last June. Inventory levels declined to a 2.7 month supply of homes for sale which explains the number of homes selling with multiple offers. On a regional basis Los Angeles County had a 1.8% year over year increase in the median price. Ventura County had a 8.2% year over year increase in the median price. Orange County had a 3.3% year over year increase in the median price. Have a great weekend!

Economic update for the week ending June 20, 2020 Stock markets higher on retail sales rebound - Stocks soared Monday after The Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose 18% in May. It was the largest monthly increase ever, and investors read the report as a sign that the economy was rebounding quicker than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 25,871.46, up 1% from 25,605.54 last week. It’s down 9.3% year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week... at 3,097.74, up 1.9% from 3,041.32 last week. It’s down 4.1% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 9,946.12, up 3.7% from 9,588.81 last week. It’s up 10.8% year to date. Mortgage rates - The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey released on June 18, 2020, reported mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 3.13%, down from 3.21% last week. The 15-year fixed was 2.58%, down from 2.62% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.09% almost unchanged from 3.10% last week. Rates dropped late in the week. California existing home sales - The California Association of Realtors announced that existing home sales totaled 238,740 on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis. As expected that was down 41.4% From the number of homes sold last May. May sales consist mostly of homes that went under contract and escrow in March an April when it was not permitted to even show a home in some cities. Fortunately, since May pending sales, homes that went under contract, have increased. The median price paid for a home in California decreased 3.7% year over year from last May. That marked the first year over year decrease in a decade. Experts were not surprised by this, as many of these sales represented people that either bought homes virtually, or viewed homes in person against city ordinances. Fortunately, those ordinances changed in the third week of April, and in person showings became permissible with safety restrictions statewide. Once that happened pending sales increased sharply. On a regional basis Los Angeles County saw a 1.4% increase in the median price, Ventura County saw a 3.1% increase, and Orange County saw a 1.2% drop in the median price from last May’s level. We are expecting the median price increases to be higher next month judging by the pending sales. Have a great weekend!