Category: Uncategorized

Stocks continued to climb this week – The DOW Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 19,933.81, up from last week’s close of 19,843.41. The S&P 500 ended the week at 2,263.79, up from its close of 2,258.07 last week. The NASDAQ closed the week at 5,462.69, up from last week’s close of 5,437.16.

U.S. Treasury Bond yields – The 10-year U.S. Treasury Bond closed the week yielding 2.55%, down from 2.60% last Friday. The 30-year Treasury Bond yield closed the week at 3.12%, down up 3.19% last week. Mortgage rates follow bond yields, so we watch treasury bonds closely.  

Mortgage rates continue to rise – The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey released on December 22, 2016 showed that average mortgage rates from lenders surveyed for the most popular mortgage products were as follows: The 30-year fixed rate average was 4.30% The 15-year fixed average rate was 3.52%. The 5/1 ARM average rate was 3.32%. Rates are now about 3/4% higher than before the election 6 weeks ago. 

California adds 31,200 jobs in October- The California Employment Development Department reported that California employers added 31,200 net new jobs in October. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.5%. Los Angeles County added 38,900 jobs and the unemployment rate was 5.1%. in October. 

California home sales and prices higher than last November – The California Association of Realtors announced that November home sales totaled 442,320 homes on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate. That was up just 0.1% from October, yet up 17.7% from last November when new closing disclosure delayed closings. The unsold inventory index dropped again to a 3.1 month supply of homes on the market. That’s an all time low and down from a 4.2 month supply last November. November’s statewide median price was $501,710, up 4.9% from November 2015 when the median price was $478,140. 

Nationwide home sales highest since February 2007 – November existing home sales rose 0.7% from October’s level and were 15.4% higher than last November, according to The National Association of Realtors. The median price for an existing home in The U.S. was 6.8% higher than November 2015. That marked the 57th consecutive month with a year over year price gain. 

I wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or any other holiday you are celebrating!   

Syd

The president of Rodeo Realty, Syd Leibovitch’s father Dr. Leibovitch calls on his children and grand children to aid the well renowned MEND organization in providing poverty stricken families with gifts for their children.

MEND is a non profit organization that aids families with hardships.  MEND’s mission is to break the bonds of poverty by providing basic human needs and a pathway to self-reliance. If you would like any information on how you can help MEND a family, please visit www.mendpoverty.org.

 

Below is the Westside Market Report for November 2016 detailing local real estate market statistics and including year-over-year data:

Westside

Below is the Conejo Valley Market Report for November 2016 detailing local real estate market statistics and including year-over-year data:

Conejo Valley

Below is the San Fernando Valley Market Report for November 2016 detailing local real estate market statistics and including year-over-year data:

San Fernando Valley

Below is the Westside Market Report for October 2016 detailing local real estate market statistics and including year-over-year data:

Westside

Below is the Conejo Valley Market Report for October 2016 detailing local real estate market statistics and including year-over-year data:

Conejo Valley

Below is the San Fernando Valley Market Report for October 2016 detailing local real estate market statistics and including year-over-year data:

San Fernando Valley

Federal Reserve raises its key rate 1/4% – The Fed announced Wednesday that it was raising its Discount and Federal Funds rate by 1/4%. This was just the second increase in 10 years. The first was done last December with an announcement to expect two more increases in 2016. The first increase did not happen as growth slowed during the first half of the year. GDP growth was just 1.1% for the first 6 months of 2016. The third quarter showed far more growth as the GDP rebounded to 3% growth and hiring picked back up. The Fed mentioned these as part of their decision for Wednesday’s increase. They also stated that they expected to make three more increases in 2017. Experts had expected that number to be two increases. The market was expecting the increase, and an announcement of two rate hikes expected next year, not three. That moved the markets down slightly. When The Fed increases rates, those increases tend to affect short term rates more than long term rates. That was the case this week as short term treasury rates increased, while the 30 year barely moved up. Equity lines tied to prime moved up 1/4% following the announcement. ARM mortgages will also move up. Shorter term hybrids like 3, and 5 year fixed moved up while the 30 year fixed barely moved. 

Stocks end week just slightly below record highs – All indexes hit record highs on Tuesday before being dragged down a bit after The Fed announced a 1/4% rate hike on Wednesday. The rate hike was largely expected so stocks didn’t lose much following the announcement. The DOW Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 19,843.41, up from last week’s close of 19,756.85. The S&P 500 ended the week at 2,258.07, unchanged from its close of 2,259.53 last week. The NASDAQ closed the week at 5,437.16, slightly off from last week’s close of 5,444.50.

U.S. Treasury Bond yields higher – The 10-year U.S. Treasury Bond closed the week yielding 2.60%, up from 2.47% last Friday. The 30-year Treasury Bond yield closed the week at 3.19%, up from 3.16% last week. Mortgage rates follow bond yields, so we watch treasury bonds closely.  

Mortgage rates continue to inch up – The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey released on December 15, 2016 showed that average mortgage rates from lenders surveyed for the most popular mortgage products were as follows: The 30-year fixed rate average was 4.16% The 15-year fixed average rate was 3.37%. The 5/1 ARM average rate was 3.19%. Rates rose Thursday and Friday so next week’s rates will be slightly higher. 

November home sales statistics were not released yet by either The California Association of Realtors or The National Association of Realtors. They should be released soon and included in my report next week. 

Have a great weekend!
Syd

DOW, S&P, and NASDAQ all close week at record highs – Stocks continued to rally with major indexes up over 3% for the week. While many are critical of Trump’s cabinet and other appointments, investors have seen them as extremely business friendly, which has fueled a continuing rally. Oil rose further this week, which boosted energy stocks and is expected to help areas tied to oil production, which have lost oil and mining jobs. Oil was around $46 just a couple weeks ago, but closed at $51.50 Friday. The DOW Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 19,756.85, up from last week’s close of 19,170.42. The S&P 500 ended the week at 2,259.53, up from its close of 2,191.95 last week. The NASDAQ closed the week at 5,444.50, up from last week’s close of 5,255.65. 

U.S. Treasury Bond yields higher – The 10-year U.S. Treasury Bond closed the week yielding 2.47%, up from 2.40% last Friday. The 30-year Treasury Bond yield closed the week at 3.16%, up from 3.08% last week. Mortgage rates follow bond yields, so we watch treasury bonds closely.  

Mortgage rates continue to rise – The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey released on December 8, 2016 showed that average mortgage rates from lenders surveyed for the most popular mortgage products were as follows: The 30-year fixed rate average was 4.13%. The 15-year fixed average rate was 3.36%. The 5/1 ARM average rate was 3.17%.

Home sales numbers and price date should begin to be reported next week. It will be interesting to see what November sales figures look like.

Have a great weekend,
Syd