CAR May Sales and Price Report

Quick Facts:

· Existing, single-family home sales increased 35.2 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted rate of 556,590 on an annualized basis.

· The statewide median price of an existing single-family home increased 4.2 percent in May to $267,570, compared with April 2009.

· C.A.R.’s Unsold Inventory Index fell to 4.2 months in May, compared with 8.7 months in May 2008.

[Note: Large changes in local median home prices typically indicate both local home price appreciation, and often, large shifts in the composition of housing market activity. Some of the variations in median home prices for April may be exaggerated due to compositional changes in housing demand. The DataQuick tables listing median home prices in California cities and counties are accessible through C.A.R. Online athttp://www.car.org/economics/historicalprices/2009medianprices/may2009medianprices]

My comments:

The overall huge drop in unsold inventory was aided by a foreclosure moratorium earlier this year, with a new 90-day moratorium enacted in Ca that started this June. In Pasadena and surrounding areas, good inventory remains low to almost non-existent, so when a good property hits the market, the multiple offers are just piling in. Also, interest rates had dropped to an unbelievable 4.5% a couple mos ago, which made the inventory suddenly very affordable to a larger number of buyers. At roughly 5.5% today, affordability is still good and many buyers are competing in this low-inventory market to try and get in while the rates are still low.

With the combination of low inventory levels and low interest rates, Ray and I are actually noting value increases in recent sales compared to the beginning of the year!

Read article HERE

Consensus Among Lending Industry Analysts That Mortgage Rates Will Remain Low

This is good news for both sellers and buyers. The low interest rates have boosted buyer affordability, bringing more buyers in to the market, and the increase in buyer activity has resulted in many (well-priced) sellers receiving multiple offers.

Read the LA Times article HERE

Affordability Improves In California

Read the full article HERE

CAR Reports March Home Sales Increased 63.8%, Median Home Price Declined 39%

Quick Facts:
· Existing, single-family home sales increased 63.8 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted rate of 522,980 on an annualized basis
· The statewide median price of an existing single-family home increased 2.2 percent in March to$253,040 compared with February 2009
· C.A.R.’s Unsold Inventory Index fell to 5 months in March, compared with 12.2 months in March 2008
· The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home declined to 48.3 days in March 2009, compared with 56.8 days in March 2008

Read the full article HERE

New Listing in Pasadena's Playhouse District

Sophisticated condo with open floor plan and spacious master suite. This light and bright unit is located near Fuller, Caltech, PCC, cultural attractions, shops, restaurants, and transportation.

Offered at $399,000

For more details and pictures, Click Here.

Virtual tour is located at http://www.286northmadison.com/ .

New Program Allows For Refis Up To 105% Value

Everybody wants to refinance right now and take advantage of these historic rates, but unfortunately it has been difficult for many to do so due to the fact that home values have dropped. Many folks have been told that refinancing is not possible because there is not enough equity in the home (it is standard for lenders to only offer a re-fi with 20% or more equity). Obama's new Making Home Affordable program will allow millions of homeowners, who don't have 20% equity in their homes, to refinance. The loan must be currently guaranteed or owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and it can not have more than one 30 day late payment in the last 12 mos to qualify. For more details regarding this program, READ THIS.

Good News For The Jumbo Loan Market

Several lenders are about to once again begin originating jumbo loans between $750k and $1.5m at interest rates in the upper 5% range. This is great news for our area as much of our inventory falls in this price category. We expect this will have a good impact on our local market and help move some of our higher priced inventory....

Read the full LA Times story HERE.