April 26, 2013 Economic update! Woo hoo!!

This week ended with mostly positive economic news. Jobless claims were down 16K, to the lowest level in five years. The DOW closed up for the week. Bond yields showed slightly lower interest rates and gold continued to plummet with more data showing very low inflation.  CAR reported that March inventory was down from February. As a result of brisk sales, inventory levels are the lowest ever reported, yet there is a steady stream of listings. These new listings are selling quickly which is why; even though we don’t have many active listings, there are a larger number of sales than we have had in the past few years.  We have seen an increase in listings in some areas over the last few weeks. This includes Santa Monica, Brentwood, Calabasas, and much of the Valley.  We have not seen an increase listings in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, and the Sunset  Strip areas.

Mortgage rates inched closer to historic lows this week as more homebuyers jumped into an increasingly competitive housing market. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.57 percent compared to 3.61 percent last week. One year ago, that rate stood at 4.09 percent. Four weeks ago, it was 3.75 percent. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 2.8 percent compared with 2.85 percent last week, and the 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 2.65 percent from 2.66 percent. The 30-year fixed has dropped for six weeks in a row. If it continues to fall at this pace, the 30-year rate soon is very close to a record low again, which was 3.5 percent in early December. Once again these rates are for conforming rate loans. 

Have a great weekend!