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It was a tough week for stock markets and interest rates. Stock markets dropped steadily all week before rebounding on Friday, but still ended the week lower. Bond yields and mortgage rates also rose this week on fears that inflation was not dropping as quickly as hoped.  Comments from the Federal Reserve which included the release of their “ Beige Book” that stated that stubborn inflation will keep rates higher for longer than expected earlier in the year was not well received by investors as stocks sold off. One Fed official even stated that there was a possibility of a rate increase if inflation continued to pick up. On Friday the Personal Consumption Index (PCE) was released. It showed that personal-consumption expenditures rose by 2.7% year-over-year in April. That was in line with expectations and indicated that inflation was slowing down and stock markets recovered from some of their steep losses in the final 10 days of the month.Bond yields and mortgage rates dropped slightly. All eyes are on the job market. The May jobs report will be released next Friday. The hope is that hiring continued to slow in May from its torrid pace in March. New unemployment claims remain low and it is feared that the unemployment rate will remain below 4% for a 28^thconsecutive month setting a new record for the country. Such a low unemployment rate is considered a major contributor to inflation by the Federal Reserve, as people with jobs and no fear of losing their job spend more freely which causes price increases. Next Friday we will get the May jobs numbers. That will be an indicator of whether the economy is finally beginning to slow.

 Stock markets – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 38,686.32, down 1% from 39,069.59 last week. It is up 2.4% year-to-date.  The S&P 500 closed the week at 5,277.51, down 0.6% from 5,304.72 last week.  The S&P is up 10.7% year-to-date. The Nasdaq closed the week at 16,735.02, down 1.1% from 16,920.80 last week. It is up 11.5% year-to-date.

 U.S. Treasury bond yields – The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 4.46%, up from 4.46% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.57, almost unchanged from 4.57% 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 May 30, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 7.03%, up from 6.94% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.36%, up from 6.24% 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.

It was a wild month for both stocks, bond yields and mortgage rates. The month started out with a jobs report showing that hiring was finally showing signs of slowing after picking back up since the start of the year. The CPI (consumer price index) came in at a year-over-year increase of 3.4% in April. That was down from 3.5% in March. Year-over-year the CPI was up 3.1% in January, 3.2% in February and 3.5% in March so an April reading of 3.4% was a welcome relief because  it showed that inflation, which had picked up since the start of the year, may be moderating again.  In the first two weeks of the month stock markets soared with the Dow closing over 40,000 for the first time in history and the NASDAQ hit an all-time high. Unfortunately, in the last two weeks several new indicators have suggested that inflation may still be not moving down as expected. The Fed released its “beige book” which gives their opinion on expectations. In that they stated that inflation was not coming down as steadily as they thought and that it may be a while until they begin cutting rates from 24-year high levels. One Fed governor even stated that there was a possibility of a rate hike. Stock markets dropped from their record highs earlier in the month and bond yields, and mortgage rates moved up on the last 10 days of the month. Fortunately, on Friday May 31, 2024, the Personal Consumption Index (PCE) was released. It showed that personal-consumption expenditures rose by 2.7% year-over-year in April. That was in line with expectations and indicated that inflation was slowing down and stock markets recovered from some of their steep losses in the final 10 days of the month and bond yields and mortgage rates dropped slightly. All eyes are on the job market. The May jobs report will be released next Friday. The hope is that hiring continued to slow in May from its torrid pace in March. New unemployment claims remain low and it is feared that the unemployment rate will remain below 4% for a 28^th consecutive month setting a new record for the country. Such a low unemployment rate is considered a major contributor to inflation by the Federal Reserve, as people with jobs and no fear of losing their job spend more freely which causes price increases. Next Friday we will get the May jobs numbers. That will be an indicator of whether the economy is finally beginning to slow.

Stock Markets – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the month at 38,686.32, up 2.3% from 37,815.92 on April 30, 2023. It is up 2.4% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the month at 5,277.51, up 4.8% from 5,035.69 last month. It is up 10.7% year-to-date.  The NASDAQ closed the month at 16,735.02, up 6.9% from 15,657.82 last month. It is up 11.4% year-to-date.

U.S. Treasury bond yields – The 10-year treasury bond closed the month yielding 4.51%, down from 4.69% last month. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the month at 4.65%, down from 4.79% last month. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates often follow treasury 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 April 25, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 7.03%, down from 7.17% at the end of April. The 15-year fixed was 6.36%, down from 6.44% last month.

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.

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 April’s home sales figures.

U.S. existing-home sales – The National Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales totaled 4.14 million units on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate in April, down 1.95 from an annualized rate of 4.22 million in April  2023.  The median price for a home in the U.S. in April was $407,600, up 5.7% from $385,800 last April. There was a 3.5-month supply of homes for sale in April, up from a 3-month supply one year ago. First-time buyers accounted for 33% of all sales. Investors and second-home purchases accounted for 16% of all sales. All-cash purchases accounted for 28% of all sales. Foreclosures and short sales accounted for 2% of all sales.

Year-over-year California home prices jumped 11.4% in April.  – The California Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales totaled 275,540 on a annualized rate in April, up 3% from an annualized rate of 267,470 in March, and up 4.4 from a revised 226,960 homes sold on an annualized basis last April. There was a 2.6-month supply of homes on the market in March, up from a 2.5-month supply one year ago.  The statewide median price paid for a home in April  was $904,210, up 5.8% from $854,490 in March and up 11.4% from a revised median price of $811,520 in April 2023.

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

Have a great weekend!

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 May 30, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 7.03%, up from 6.94% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.36%, up from 6.24% 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.

Economic news this week – It was a tough week for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. After five straight weeks of gains, the Dow ended the week down 2.4% from last week’s record high when the Dow closed over 40,000 for the first time. While some of this week’s sell-off can be attributed to profit-taking, interest rate fears were a factor as well. The Dow dropped 604 points on Thursday, its biggest single-day drop in 2024, following minutes released from the last Federal Reserve policy meeting. Fed comments included that inflation was more stubborn than expected and that the Fed now expects just one interest rate drop this year, down from their guidance of four expected drops at the start of 2024. Goldman also changed their forecast from a Fed rate drop in July to no rate drop until September. While there have finally been some signs that the economy may have begun to lose steam, the Commerce Department reported Friday that durable goods purchases surged in April. Durable goods purchases, which include things like cars, trucks, appliances, etc. shot up 0.7% month-over-month in April. Experts forecasted a 1% decline. Contrasting that was consumer confidence which had the lowest reading since last November. Next week the Personal Consumption Expenditure (CPE) index will be released. That will give us more insight into where inflation is heading.

Stock markets – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 39,069.59, down 2.4% from 40,003.59 last week. It is up 3.7% year-to-date.  The S&P 500 closed the week at 5,304.72, unchanged from 5,303.27 last week.  The S&P is up 11.2% year-to-date. The Nasdaq closed the week at 16,920.80, up 1.4% from 16,684.97 last week. It is up 12.7% year-to-date.

 U.S. Treasury bond yields – The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 4.46%, up from 4.42% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.57, almost unchanged from 4.56% 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 May 23, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.94%, down from 7.02% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.24%, down from 6.28% 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 4.14 million units on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate in April, down 1.95 from an annualized rate of 4.22 million in April 2023.  The median price for a home in the U.S. in April was $407,600, up 5.7% from $385,800 last April. There was a 3.5-month supply of homes for sale in April, up from a 3-month supply one year ago. First-time buyers accounted for 33% of all sales. Investors and second-home purchases accounted for 16% of all sales. All cash purchases accounted for 28% of all sales. Foreclosures and short sales accounted for 2% of all sales.

Have a great weekend!

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 May 23, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.94%, down from 7.02% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.24%, down from 6.28% 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.

Economic news this week included some data that indicated that inflation may be moderating. This included that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), showed that consumer prices increased 3.4% year-over-year in April, down from a 3.5% a year-over-year increase in March. The Core CPI index, which strips out food and energy costs, rose 3.6% year-over-year, down from 3.8% in March. That marked the lowest annual increase in core inflation since early 2021. Bond yields dropped for the fourth consecutive week as investors feel that rates will continue to drop as inflation moderates. The prospect of lower borrowing costs, while consumers remain spending, drove stock markets up again. The S&P and Nasdaq have increased for four consecutive weeks, while the Dow celebrated a fifth consecutive week of gains and ended the week over 40,000 for the first time. Stock markets – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 40,003.59, up 1.2% from 39,512.84 last week. It is up 6.1% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 5,303.27, up 1.6% from 5,222.68 last week. The S&P is up 11.2% year-to-date. The Nasdaq closed the week at 16,684.97, up 2.1% from 16,340.87 last week. It is up 11.1% year-to-date. U.S. Treasury bond yields – The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 4.42%, down from 4.50% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.56%, down from 4.64% 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 May 16, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 7.02%, down from 7.09% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.28%, down from 6.38% last week. Mortgage rates have dropped for four straight weeks. 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. Year-over-year California home prices jumped 11.4% in April – The California Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales totaled 275,540 on an annualized rate in April, up 3% from an annualized rate of 267,470 in March, and up 4.4 from a revised 226,960 homes sold on an annualized basis last April. There was a 2.6-month supply of homes on the market in March, up from a 2.5-month supply one year ago. The statewide median price paid for a home in April was $904,210, up 5.8% from $854,490 in March and up 11.4% from a revised median price of $811,520 in April 2023. The graph below shows sales data by county in Southern California.

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 May 16, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 7.02%, down from 7.09% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.28%, down from 6.38% 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.

Syd Leibovitch, President of Rodeo Realty, recently appeared on the LA Fixers Real Estate Podcast! Drawing from his extensive experience, Syd offers valuable insights into the intricacies of the real estate industry, providing viewers with a comprehensive understanding of market trends, investment strategies, and the keys to success in this ever-evolving landscape.

You can watch the full episode below:

Explore our website for the most up-to-date information on real estate data and local news!

RodeoRe.com

RodeoRealty.blog

Economic news this week – Stock markets increased and mortgage rates dropped this week as it appears that we are finally seeing some signs that the economy is slowing. Up until last week, experts were puzzled as to how the labor market, retail sales, and inflation were picking up after almost two years of Fed rate hikes and other tightening measures. Last Friday’s jobs report had the number of new jobs added in April significantly lower than March. The Fed also announced that they were going to stop selling off their treasury bond portfolio, which has enabled long-term rates to drop. This week it was announced that new jobless claims increased for the first time this year. Consumer confidence dropped well below expectations. Usually when consumer confidence drops people cut back on spending. When spending slows inflation retreats. Investors feel that we have turned a corner. Next Monday the Producer Price Index will be released and on Wednesday the Consumer Price Index will be released. Analysts are expecting those reports to show some signs that inflation is beginning to moderate. That has pushed the Dow up for eight straight sessions. The S&P and Nasdaq have also rebounded strongly over the last two weeks. Stock markets – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 39,512.84, up 1.1% from 38,675.68 last week. It is up 4.8% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 5,222.68, up 1.8% from 5,127.79 last week. The S&P is up 9.5% year-to-date. The Nasdaq closed the week at 16,340.87, up 1.1% from 16,156.33 last week. It is up 8.9% year-to-date. U.S. Treasury bond yields – The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 4.50%, unchanged from 4.50% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.64%, almost unchanged from 4.66% 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 May 9, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 7.09%, down from 7.22% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.38%, down from 6.47% 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. Real Estate sales figures for April will be released by the California Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors next week. You can get April’s data for your city, zip code’ or county on our website RodeoRe.com. It is tabulated from the same data that the California Association of Realtors uses. Have a great weekend!

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 May 9th, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 7.09%, down from 7.22% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.38%, down from 6.47% 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.