23. May 2008 by Ana Connell.

• Leading Indicators, inched up .1% trying to suggest that the economy will not officially dip into a recession.(Monday)
• Producer Price Index .2% increase seems tame following the 1.1% surge last month. (Tuesday)
• FOMC Meeting Minutes the Fed lowered it’s forecast for economic growth and indicated that it was pausing in it’s interest rate strategy for a while. They believe that while growth is contracting in the first half of 2008 it will rebound in the latter half of the year.(Wednesday)
• Jobless Claims came in at 365K which seems to suggest a stabilization in the jobs market.(Thursday)
• Exisiting Home Sales dropped by 1% in April and inventories rose from a supply of 10 months to 11.2 months.(Friday)

• Bonds…2 year 2.45%, 5 yr. 3.15% and the 10 yr. 3.85%….so far as market has not closed on the day yet, but will close early for the Memorial Day Holiday.
• Crude oil has been the big story this week hitting record highs, right now it’s sitting at $132.82 per barrel, below the record of $135 it hit yesterday.

Of note this past week:

Oil, again, is dominating the markets and not in a good way.  The Dow is sitting at 12517, down 108 points on the day so far and down over 500 points on the week if this continues.  The negative fallout is hitting Europe as those markets are feeling the pain with their main concern being that oil prices are showing little signs of retreating.

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

The Economic Week Ahead( I will be dark for 2 weeks so I’ve included upcoming events for those weeks, commentary to follow when I get back):

• Memorial Day Holiday!(Monday)
• Consumer Confidence , New Homes Sales(Tuesday)
• Durable Goods Orders, MBA Purchase Applications(Wednesday)
• Jobless Claims , Help Wanted Index, GDP(Thursday)
• Consumer Sentiment, Personal Income and Outlays , NAPM Chicago Index (Friday)

The Economic Week Ahead For June 2nd:

• ISM Manufacturing Index , (Monday)
• Motor Vehicle Sales, Factory Orders(Tuesday)
• Challenger Job Cut Report, MBA Purchase Applications(Wednesday)
• Jobless Claims , Monster Employment Index, Chain Store Sales,BOE Announcement- Bank of England Monetary Policy, ECB Announcement- Interest Rate policy issued by European Central Bank
  (Thursday)
• Consumer Credit, Employment Situation(Friday)

Have a great week!

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23. May 2008 by Ana Connell.

Here is the report for April and as you can see sales can vary greatly by area. One thing is clear, however, money is still tight and sales are down. Latest forecasts have the turnaround starting later this year and into 2009. The recovery does hinge on access to loans and in many cases buyers are not qualifying under the current banking standards. A record 62% of banks reported tighter lending standards for prime mortgages and 72% have tighted subprime mortgage requirements(no surprise here).

Fixed mortgage rates are expected to rise to 6.2% later this year and 6.3% for 2009.

To keep things in perspective…..home prices in Los Angeles/Long Beach/Orange County areas increased 6.2% over the last 5 years.  This statistic oversimplifies some aspects of this market, but it is clear that some areas are still doing well relative to prices just 5 years ago.

Is it time to buy?  Maybe …..market upturns can be hard to predict and rising prices can catch most buyers off guard.   Do your homework and start your shopping today so you know if you are getting a well priced home.  Overall trends can underscore the bargains that are out there today.

City #Sold 2008 / 2007 %Chg
Burbank                             56         $521,500/ $634,000         -17.74%

Glendale                            56         $552,500/ $605,000         - 8.68%

Canoga Park                     30        $447,500/ $550,000          -18.64%

Montrose                              4        $417,750/ $575,000           -27.35%

North Hollywood             58        $385,000/$565,750           -31.95%

Sherman Oaks                 41        $760,000/ $761,759            - .23%

Studio City                        31        $800,000/ $899,000          -11.01%

Valley Village                  11        $583,500/ $727,000            -19.74%

Tujunga                             14        $498,000/ $564,500           -11.78%

Agoura Hills                     21       $450,000/ $650,000          -30.77%

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