Category: Uncategorized

Posted on

Dog-Friendly Hikes In Los Angeles | Out & About

Living in Los Angeles can be a hectic affair, especially for your pet. Likewise, they are very likely to be appreciative of more walk time in a beautiful and relaxing natural setting. Unfortunately, not all parks and natural areas in Los Angeles are welcoming to pets. That’s why we have compiled this list of some of the most popular dog-friendly hikes in the Los Angeles area. The bonus? They are all within driving distance of the city.

Runyon Canyon Park

    • One of the area’s most beloved dog-friendly hikes, Runyon Canyon boasts three different trails. Likewise, they consist of different lengths and elevation changes. There are plenty of areas in its 130-acre surface where your pet can run free and enjoy the natural environment. In addition, you can take in some of the most wonderful views of Hollywood. Start at Mulholland Drive and continue on to the east end of the Santa Monica Mountains in Hollywood. Keep in mind this is a very popular park so there will be plenty of other hikers and their dogs in the area.
Westridge Trail to San Vicente Mountain

    • Another one of several off-leash, dog-friendly hikes in the Los Angeles area, is the Westridge Fire Road. The trail is well known among local hikers, mountain bike riders, and nature lovers in the Brentwood area. Its 7.4-mile trail will lead you to an abandoned cold-war era defensive missile site where you can soak in the history of the place. Likewise, you can enjoy the vast scenery of the San Vicente Mountains. From there you will come upon the old lookout tower while your dog gets some enjoyable runs along the trail.
Amir’s Garden

    • A delightful one-mile hike leads you straight to a beautiful garden in Griffith Park where you can sit back and relax in two of the most amazing picnic areas you will ever find, one at the Old Zoo and the other in the garden itself, which boasts picnic tables and different varieties of foliage and greenery, making it one of the most pleasant dog-friendly hikes in Los Angeles.
Fish Canyon Narrows

    • Nestled in the Sierra Pelona Mountains on the Far West End of Los Angeles, this beautiful 10-mile trail offers views usually similar to those you can find in Utah. With 100-foot cliffs built out of eye-pleasing red rock and set only 20 feet apart, you and your pet can enjoy an adventure that features bushwacking and exploring the trail while taking in the beautiful view of Castaic Lake. The entrance can be found on Templin Highway and its remoteness lends to a more private experience.
Bridge To Nowhere

    • Another 10-mile adventure, this uniquely historic trail will lead you to an abandoned bridge that is considered to be a local treasure. With a number of fords along the way, this trail offers a variety of opportunities for swimming on a hot day, so keep in mind you will need at least 6 hours to complete the trip. Located in the East Fork of the San Gabriel River, it is suggested you bring plenty of water and a change of shoes for your hike.

Los Angeles offers a numerous selection of dog-friendly hikes that are open year-round, but, given the fact that most of these run through the wilderness and unpopulated areas, you make encounter rattlesnakes along the way, so keep an eye open for you and your pet’s safety.

 

Posted on

Economic Update | Week Ending March 2, 2024

Next Friday the Department of Labor and Statistics will release the February jobs report. Investors are eagerly awaiting what those numbers will look like. The Fed has stated that slowing job growth is their number one priority to combat inflation. It looked like job growth was slowing last year, but January’s job gains were double the amount expected. People ask, “why would the Fed want the unemployment rate to rise?” My best answer is, do you know a restaurant that’s having trouble staying open, or an accountant, attorney, or any business that they can’t find help? We have been at the lowest unemployment rate since the 1960’s for almost two years. That shortage of labor has wages rising at a much higher rate than the inflation target level. When people make more, they spend more. More competition for goods drives prices up. The Fed’s goal is to get the labor market more balanced. Having more jobs than applicants is not a sustainable labor market. After last month’s surging job growth mortgage rates increased and the Fed’s likelihood of dropping rates from their 24-year high levels became more unlikely in the coming months. If job creation slows mortgage rates will drop and the Fed will be able to begin lowering rates.

Stock markets – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 39,087.38, down 0.2% from 39,151.53 last week. It is up 3.7% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 5,137.08, up 1% from 5,088.80 last week. The S&P is up 7.7% year-to-date. The Nasdaq closed the week at 16,274.94, up 1.7% from 15,996.82 last week. It is up 8.4% year-to-date.

U.S. Treasury bond yields – The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 4.25%, almost unchanged from 4.26% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.38%, almost unchanged from 4.37% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields.

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of February 15, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.94%, up from 6.90% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.26%, down from 6.29% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.


Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Their mandate is to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the U.S.

 

Have a great weekend!
Posted on

Economic Update | Month Ending February 29, 2024

Key economic news in February – Stock prices soared with the Dow and S&P hitting record highs, and the Nasdaq made up most of last year’s losses. Recent reports show that the economy appears to be heating up. 353,000 net new jobs were added in January, nearly double the number that analysts expected. Corporate profits beat estimates almost across the board with tech stocks leading the way. Unfortunately, with the economy so strong the inflation level is not dropping as quickly as economists had hoped. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures consumer prices rose 3.1% from one year ago. Experts had projected a 2.9% increase. The Producer Price Index (PPI) for January, which measures wholesale prices, increased 0.3% month-over-month, its largest increase since last August, and well above the 0.1% increase economists expected. Investors were very optimistic in December and January that the Fed would soon begin to drop their key interest rates from the current 23-year high levels but now feel that a rate drop is months away. Minutes from the latest Fed meeting confirmed that the Fed is in no rush to begin dropping rates. This drove bond yields and mortgage rates higher in February, but they are still well below their peak last October.

Stock Markets – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the month at 38,996.39, up 2.2% from 38,150.30 on January 31, 2023. It is up 3.5% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the month at 5,096.27, up 5.2% from 4,845.65 last month. It is up 6.9% year-to-date. The NASDAQ closed the month at 16,091.92, up 6.2% from 15,164.01 last month. It is up 7.2% year-to-date.

U.S. Treasury bond yields – The 10-year treasury bond closed the month yielding 4.25%, up from 3.99% last month. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the month at 4.38%, up from 4.22% last month. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates often follow treasury bond yields.

Mortgage rates – The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates as of February 29, 2024, for the most popular loan products were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.94%, up from 6.69% at the end of January. The 15-year fixed was 6.26%, up from 5.96% at the end of January.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Home sales data is released on the third week of the month for the previous month by the National Association of Realtors and the California Association of Realtors. These are January’s home sales figures.

U.S. existing-home sales – The National Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales totaled 4.00 – million units on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate in January, down 4.8% from an annualized rate of 4.20 million in January 2023. The median price for a home in the U.S. in January was 379,100, up 5.1% from $360,800 last January. There was a 3.0-month supply of homes for sale in January, almost unchanged from a 2.9-month supply last January. First-time buyers accounted for 28% of all sales. Investors and second-home purchases accounted for 17% of all sales. All cash purchases accounted for 32% of all sales. Foreclosures and short sales accounted for 2% of all sales.

Lower mortgage rates in January were credited to an increase in home sales – The California Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales totaled 256,160 in January, up 14.4% from 224,000 closed sales in December, and up 5.9% from a revised 241,920 homes sold on an annualized basis last January. There was a 3.2-month supply of homes on the market in January, up from a 2.5-month supply of homes in December, and down from a 3.5-month supply one year ago. The statewide median price paid for a home in January was $788,940, up 5% from a revised median price of $751,700 last January.

 

The graph below shows sales data by county in Southern California.
Posted on

Mortgage Rate Update | February 29, 2024

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of February 29, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.94%, up from 6.90% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.26%, down from 6.29% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Their mandate is to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the U.S.

Posted on

Economic Update | Week Ending February 24, 2024

! Weekly Economic Update

The Dow and the S&P 500 closed the week at record highs – Tech stocks led the way with an impressive week, but all sectors were generally higher. The resilience in the economy has surprised investors who were expecting a slowdown one year ago and now see the economy continuing to expand. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 39,151.53, up 1.4% from 38,627.99 last week. It is up 3.9% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 5,088.80, up 1.7% from 5,005.57 last week. The S&P is up 6.7% year-to-date. The Nasdaq closed the week at 15,996.82, up 1.4% from 15,775.65 last week. It is up 6.6% year-to-date.

U.S. Treasury bond yields – The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 4.26%, down from 4.30% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.37%, down from 4.45% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields.

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of February 15, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.90%, up from 6.77% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.29%, up from 6.12% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Their mandate is to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the U.S.

U.S. existing-home sales – The National Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales totaled 4 million units on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate in January, down 4.8% from an annualized rate of 4.2 million in January 2023. The median price for a home in the U.S. in January was 379,100, up 5.1% from $360,800 last January. There was a 3-month supply of homes for sale in January, almost unchanged from a 2.9-month supply last January. First-time buyers accounted for 28% of all sales. Investors and second-home purchases accounted for 17% of all sales. All cash purchases accounted for 32% of all sales. Foreclosures and short sales accounted for 2% of all sales.

Have a great weekend!

Posted on

Mortgage Rate Update | February 22, 2024

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of February 15, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.90%, up from 6.77% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.29%, up from 6.12% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Their mandate is to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the U.S.

Posted on

Economic Update | Week Ending February 17, 2024

! Weekly Economic Update

Key economic news this week – This week we saw bond yields and mortgage rates increase on reports that indicate the inflation level is not dropping as quickly as economists had hoped. On Tuesday the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures consumer prices, was released. That report showed that consumer prices rose 3.1% from one year ago. Experts had projected a 2.9% increase. Stocks fell and bond and mortgage rates rose after the announcement. On Wednesday it was reported that retail sales dropped 0.8% month-over-month in January. While it’s expected for retail sales to drop in January from December due to holiday sales, experts had expected just a 0.3% decline. Slowing sales are good news for inflation as consumer spending is such a large part of the economy. Stock prices, bond yields, and mortgage rates settled a little from Tuesday’s rise. On Thursday the Producer Price Index (PPI) for January was released. Producer prices, which measure wholesale prices, increased 0.3% month-over-month, its largest increase since last August, and well above the 0.1% increase economists expected. Higher costs to producers are passed to consumers. Stock prices fell and bond and mortgage rates increased because of the PPI report. The Fed is looking for data showing that inflation is continuing to decline. Their goal is to get to a 2% annual inflation level. Investors were very optimistic in December and January that the Fed would soon begin to drop their key interest rates from their 23-year high levels. in February the government reported that almost double the number of new jobs expected were created, inflation rose more than hoped, and company profits indicate that the economy may be heating up. Experts who felt there would be a rate drop in March now feel that there is almost no chance of that and any rate reduction by the Fed will be months away.

Stock markets – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 38,627.99, down 0.1% from 38,671.69 last week. It is up 2.6% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 5,005.57, down 0.4% from 5,026.61 last week. The S&P is up 4.9% year-to-date. The Nasdaq closed the week at 15,775.65, down 1.3% from 15,990.66 last week. It is up 5.1% year-to-date.

U.S. Treasury bond yields – The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 4.30%, up from 4.17% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.45%, up from 4.37% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields.

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of February 15, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.77%, up from 6.64% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.12%, up from 5.90% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Their mandate is to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the U.S.

Lower mortgage rates in January credited to an increase in home sales – The California Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales totaled 256,160 in January, up 14.4% from 224,000 closed sales in December, and up 5.9% from a revised 241,920 homes sold on an annualized basis last January. There was a 3.2-month supply of homes on the market in January, up from a 2.5-month supply of homes in December, and down from a 3.5-month supply one year ago. The statewide median price paid for a home in January was $788,940, up 5% from a revised median price of $751,700 last January.

The graph below shows home sales figures by county in Southern California.

Have a great weekend!

Posted on

Mortgage Rate Update | February 15, 2024

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of February 15, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.77%, up from 6.64% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.12%, up from 5.90% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Their mandate is to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the U.S.

Posted on

Economic Update | Week Ending February 10, 2024

The S&P closed above 5,000 for the first time ever – With the consensus of economists that the economy is growing at a healthy pace with no slowing in sight, stock markets notched another impressive week. In fact, the S&P and Nasdaq have closed higher for 14 out of the last 15 weeks. For the S&P that is a feat not seen since 1972 and for the Nasdaq it’s the best streak since 1997. January CPI will be released on Tuesday and PPI on Friday. Those reports are important to see where inflation is moving. If inflation keeps moving lower there is a good chance that the Fed will drop interest rates sooner than if the inflation rate begins to tick up again.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 38,671.69, almost unchanged from 38,654.42 last week. It is up 2.6% year-to-date.  The S&P 500 closed the week at 5,026.61, up 1.4% from 4,958.61 last week.  The S&P is up 5.4% year-to-date. The Nasdaq closed the week at 15,990.66, up 2.3% from 15,628.95 last week. It is up 6.5% year-to-date.

U.S. Treasury bond yields – The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 4.17%, up from 4.03% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.37%, up from 4.22% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields.

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes an interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of February 8, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.64%, almost unchanged from 6.63% last week. The 15-year fixed was 5.90%, down from 5.94% last week.

January housing data should be released by the end of next week by the California Association of Realtors and the following week by the National Association of Realtors. You can get housing data now for your city or zip code on our website RodeoRe.com.

Have a great weekend!

Posted on

Mortgage Rate Update | February 8, 2024

Mortgage Rate Update

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of February 8, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.64%, almost unchanged from 6.63% last week. The 15-year fixed was 5.90%, down slightly from 5.94% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Their mandate is to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the U.S.

Proudly powered by WordPress