More Signs of Light at The End of The Tunnel

The sales pace of single-family, detached resale homes soared 84.9 percent in December 2008 compared to the same month in 2007, with the median sales price diving 41.5 percent, the California Association of Realtors reported this week.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of home sales in the state was 544,580 in December — this rate is [...]

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A Financial Manhattan Project for the Fed

Long-term rates rose this week, mortgages up to 5.25 percent even with a 1 percent origination fee. Refinance demand, fear of massive sales of Treasury bonds ahead, and a new banking freeze combined to do the damage.
Refinance demand is big, but not comparable to 2003. Yes, the industry is 75 percent smaller, but this time [...]

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Southern California Sales Up 51% in December

While I have been telling you that the activity has picked in our market from my personal observations, here is an article from Bloomberg this morning that drives it home:
Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) — Southern California home sales rose 51 percent in December as a surge in foreclosures pushed prices of single-family houses and condominiums down [...]

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Is Real Estate a Good Investment Anymore?

Real estate has produced comparable long-term returns to the stock market. Of course, as recent events have demonstrated, both can lead to significant losses in the short term! Real estate and stocks don’t always move in tandem, so investing in real estate may help diversify a stock portfolio and vice versa. Consider that when [...]

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Southland home sales ease but still beat ‘07; median falls below $300K

Southern California home sales outpaced last year for the fifth consecutive month in November, when 55 percent of buyers in the resale market chose repossessed homes. The abundance of discounted foreclosures helped push the median sale price down a record 35 percent from a year ago, a real estate information service reported. A total [...]

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