Economic update for the week ending June 25, 2016

Stocks suffer worst day in 10 months following British vote to leave European Union – Stocks declined worldwide on Friday following results of British vote to leave the European Union. Stocks were up for the week until Friday morning. Polling suggested that the British people would vote to remain in the European Union. Following the results the British prime minister, David Cameron, resigned adding further uncertainty. Nobody knows what the financial impact will be. Many felt that predictions of recession in Europe and The U.K. If the Brits voted to leave the EU were overblown to scare the British people into voting to remain in the EU, but nobody really knows for sure what the impact will be and if other countries will follow. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 17,400.75, down from 17,675.16 last Friday. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,037.41, down from 2,071.22 last week. The NASDAQ closed the week at 4,707.98, down from last week’s close of 4,800.34.

Bond yields remain at 3-year low – The 10 year U.S. Treasury bond yield closed the week at 1.52%, down from 1.62% last Friday. The 30-year U.S. Treasury bond closed at 2.42%, down slightly from 2.44% last week. Mortgage rates follow bond rates so we watch bond rates carefully.

Mortgage rates at 3-year low – The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey released on June 23, 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 3.56%. The 15-year fixed average rate was 2.83%. The 5/1 ARM average rate was 2.74%. Rates dropped with stocks on Friday so rates are currently a little lower. 

Pending home sales rise in California – The California Association of Realtors reported on Thursday that statewide pending existing home sales rose 3.8% in May from May 2015. This was welcome news as year over year closed home sales dropped dropped in May on a year over year basis. They also reported that pending home sales in Southern California rose 5.6% on a year over year basis compared to May 2015.  

U.S existing home sales hit their highest pace in over a decade – The National Association of Realtors reported that total existing home sales, which include single family homes, condos, town-homes, and co-ops, were up 4.5% in May from May 2015. The total number of sales on a annualized adjusted rate was 5.53 million homes in May 2016. May was the highest annual pace since February 2007 when sales hit 5.79 million. 

Have a great weekend,
Syd

Rodeo Realty's Calabasas agent Haroldine Gearhart sells home of WNBA legend Lisa Leslie

haroldine.lisaleslie3

Calabasas agent Haroldine Gearhart is being mentioned in the Los Angeles Times for selling the home of local basketball great, Lisa Leslie. According to the newspaper, the home was sold for $1.854 million.

The former L.A. Sparks star bought the house four years ago for $1.7 million, the LA Times reports.

la-1465915770-snap-photo

The two-story Calabasas home has a center-island kitchen, an office/den, five bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms. A sweeping staircase opens to a living room with a fireplace and an adjacent family/game room. Outside, there’s a swimming pool with a spa, a built-in barbecue, and an attached three-car garage.

To read the entire LA Times article, click HERE
View photos of the property below:

[su_slider source=”media: 16873,16874,16872,16871,16870,16866,16869,16868,16867,16865,16864,16863,16862,16861″ width=”1600″ height=”500″ title=”no”]

Latest listing video by Rodeo Realty's Ben Bacal featured in Curbed LA

[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttV9vai-RWs” width=”740″ height=”440″ responsive=”no” controls=”no” autohide=”yes” showinfo=”no” autoplay=”yes” loop=”yes” rel=”no” modestbranding=”yes” theme=”light”]

Rodeo Realty’s Ben Bacal is back with not one, but two elaborate short films that showcase the homes he is selling.

The real estate agent has made news again with his not-so-ordinary listing videos.

“Real estate agent Ben Bacal is known for giving his listings the Hollywood treatment,” said Curbed LA.

benbacaldogvideo

Curbed featured one of Bacal’s latest videos—a small dog living it up in an $18.5 million mansion.

In the short film, “Sherlock Bones” inherits the Hollywood Hills mansion and is seen enjoying the lavish lifestyle. In the end, it turns out it was all a dream. The Instagram famous corgi still lives at 1895 Rising Glen Road, but he is not the owner.

The listing video has also been featured in The Real Deal Los Angeles and Mansion Global.

“Never underestimate the appeal of cuteness when selling a house,” said the online site.

Bacal’s other property video involves action and suspense. The short film for 9233 Shallow Drive has a woman breaking into a $16,495,000 home and receiving a little help once she’s on the inside. Watch the video below.

[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSoPPJH7i44″ width=”740″ height=”440″ responsive=”no” controls=”no” autohide=”yes” showinfo=”no” autoplay=”no” loop=”yes” rel=”no” modestbranding=”yes” theme=”light”]

To read the Curbed LA article, click HERE

To read The Real Deal’s story, click HERE

Mansion Global’s story, click HERE

Economic Update For The Week Ending June 18, 2016

Stocks lower this week – Stock markets have dropped in the last 6 sessions. Investor’s fears are over next Thursday’s British referendum to leave the European Union. It is unknown what impact it will have if the referendum passes, but many investors feel it will harm the European economy and thus hurt corporate profits. Some believe that if the British break away from the European Union others will follow. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 17,675.16, down from 17,865.34 last Friday. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,071.22, down from 2,096.07 last week. The NASDAQ closed the week at 4,800.34, down from last week’s close of 4,895.55.

Bond yields remain near 3-year low – The 10 year U.S. Treasury bond yield closed the week at 1.62%, down slightly from 1.64% last Friday. The 30-year U.S. Treasury bond closed at 2.44%, also down from 2.44% last week. Mortgage rates follow bond rates so we watch bond rates carefully.

Mortgage rates at 3-year low – The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey released on June 16, 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 3.54%. The 15-year fixed average rate was 2.81% The 5/1 ARM average rate was 2.74%. Bond yields dropped at the end on the week so rates could be even lower next week.

California’s unemployment rate dips to 5.2% – The Employment Development Department reported that California employers’s added 15,200 net new jobs in May. While the number of new jobs added was below what analysts expected, the unemployment rate fell from 5.3% in April to 5.2% in May. The unemployment rate in May 2015 was 6.4%, so being at 5.2% is a 1.2% drop year over year!

Federal Reserve leaves rates unchanged in June – Amid worries of slowing job growth, The Federal Open Market Committee declined to raise it’s interest rate target at this week’s two day meeting from 0.5%. Fed chairperson, Janet Yellen signaled late last year that there could be as many as 6 increases in 2016. As the labor market growth has slowed and economic growth no longer at last year’s levels, Fed officials are signaling that there may only be one or two increases in 2016.

California existing home sales and prices up in May – The California Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales in California totaled 410,190 in May on a seasonally adjusted annual rate. That is up 0.6% from April and down 3.2% from last May. Tight inventory has impacted the number of sales, as there was just a 3.4 month supply of homes on the market in May, down from 3.5 months in April. A 6-7 month supply is considered normal. The median price paid for a single family home in California rose to $518,760 in May from $509,590 in April. 

Have a great weekend!
Syd  

Rodeo Realty's Calabasas realtor Desiree Zuckerman reps buyer of Ray Romano's home

desireezuckerman.rayromano

Actor-comedian Ray Romano has sold his Woodland Hills home. Rodeo Realty’s Desiree Zuckerman represented the buyer.

The sale made news in the Los Angeles Times and The Real Deal LA on Wednesday. The LA Times reports that the “Everybody loves Raymond” actor sold his home for $1.025 million.

la-1466028932-snap-photo

The single-story house sits on about half and acre with a swimming pool, a fire pit and a built-in barbeque. In all there are four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The master suite has a sliding glass door that opens to a covered patio.

Romano, 58, has appeared on the TV shows “The King of Queens,” “Men of a Certain Age” and, most recently, HBO series “Vinyl.” He has won three Emmys for “Everybody Loves Raymond,” including two for outstanding comedy series.

To read LA Times article, click HERE
The Real Deal story, click HERE

[su_slider source=”media: 16719,16718,16715,16714,16717,16716,16711,16712,16713″ width=”1600″ height=”500″ title=”no”]

Rodeo Realty's Westlake Village agent Leo McHale congratulated for closing 11 sales in 45 days

leomchale11sales

Westlake Village agent Leo McHale has made news in The Acorn Newspaper for closing 11 sales in 45 days—totaling $7.4 million.

President and CEO of Rodeo Realty, Syd Leibovitch, has congratulated McHale for his outstanding achievements.

According to The Acorn, as of June 3 McHale already had 25 sold, in escrow or pending, totaling $17 million in sales.

“McHale is ranked as the No. 1 top selling agent in Agoura Hills with 94 closed sales from 2011 through 2015,” said the newspaper. “In addition, he is widely recognized as the No. 1 top selling agent in the Lake Lindero area, with 108 new, pending and closed sales totaling $63 million.”

The newspaper reports that McHale has helped nearly 100 people buy and sell their homes in the last 30 months totaling $64 million.

“I am truly blessed to help someone buy or sell a home, and I am proof that you can be successful without sacrificing your value,” McHale tells the newspaper.

To read the entire article on McHale and learn more about his recent sales, click HERE or view article below.

[su_document url=”https://rodeorealty.blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Page_029.pdf” height=”760″ responsive=”no”]

Rodeo Realty's Beverly Hills agent Ina Kagel lists former home of actor Brendan Fraser

inakagelbrendanfraser

An almost 4000 square foot home in Beverly Hills Post Office area, formerly owned by celebrity actor Brendan Fraser from 1996-2007, is currently on the market for $4,450,00. The home had been fully remodeled and developed for Fraser and his family. Ina Kagel of Rodeo Realty Beverly Hills is the listing agent.

la-fi-hotprop-movie-star-20160614-001

Kagel’s listing was featured as the ‘Home of the Day’ in the Los Angeles Times on Thursday. Los Angeles real estate news, The Real Deal and the #1 portal for luxury properties on the internet, LuxuryRealEstate.com have also featured the property on their websites.

Brendan-Fraser-9400-Readcrest-Drive-1-1-475x250

The Mid-Century Modern home includes three to four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The property has a master suite with an attached loft, which is usable as a sitting room or office, a media room, a gym, a photo dark room, a wine cellar, state-of-the-art lighting and many other features. The former Fraser house has floor-to-ceiling windows that capture panoramic views of the ocean, city and canyon. Enhancing the vista from one of the two decks is a resort-style pool with waterfall and spa.

The American-Canadian actor played Rick O’Connell in The Mummy trilogy and is best known for his leading roles in films such as George of the Jungle (1997), Encino Man (1992) and Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003). Aside from acting, Fraser is also an accomplished amateur photographer—which explains the dark room in his former home.

For more details on the property, visit www.9400readcrestdrive.com

The Real Deal article, click HERE
LuxuryRealEstate.com, click HERE
LA Times, click HERE

[su_slider source=”media: 16667,16666,16668,16665,16664,16663,16661,16660,16659,16658,16657,16656,16655,16654,16653,16652″ width=”1600″ height=”500″ title=”no”]