21. November 2008 by Ana Connell.

Image via Wikipedia Calif. median home price

September 08: $316,480(Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region

September 08: Santa Barbara So. Coast $935,000 (Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region

September 08: High Desert $159,720 (Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. First-time Buyer Affordability Index

Second Quarter 08: 48 percent (Source: C.A.R.)

Mortgage rates - week ending 11/13/08

30-yr. fixed: 6.14% Fees/points: 0.7%

15-yr. fixed: 5.81% Fees/points: 0.7%

1-yr. adjustable: 5.33% Fees/points: 0.5%(Source: Freddie Mac)

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20. November 2008 by Ana Connell.

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeHousing starts fell by 4.5% in October, coming on the heels of a 3% drop in September.  Multifamily units let the way with a 6.8% decline and single family homes declined by 3.3%.

Permits dropped by 12% in October following a 6.1% decline in September.   Still waiting for housing on a national level to hit bottom.  All this confirms that we are indeed in a recession and have been for some time.  We’ll see if things start to turn around in the next few months, especially if the tide of foreclosures and short sales are reigned in by the banks.

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20. November 2008 by Ana Connell.

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeThe National Association of Home Builders issues a monthly survey to it’s members where they are asked to rate the economy and general market conditions.   The housing market index is a weighted average of present sales of new homes, sale of new homes expected in the next six months, and traffic of prospective buyers in new homes.

Home builders are having an extremely difficult time this recession, reflected in the national home builders’ housing market index which plummeted to 9 in November, under October’s 14 which had until now been the record low.

Data on new and existing home sales for October will be released at the end of the month and so far, including this report and the pending home sales index posted earlier in the month, things point to a reversal of September’s higher numbers.

Declining home prices tied to foreclosure and short sales and swelling supply are apparently not yet attracting buyers in many areas.  The credit squeeze is still an issue for many buyers.

In the Burbank/San Fernando Valley real estate area I have seen alot of activity and multiple offers in the200k-400k range.   There are qualified buyers and investors out there that will bid on properties, if the price is right.  Lots of questions remain, including whether the banks will work with home owners facing foreclosures and short sales.

We also need to factor in the length of the current credit squeeze and the employment situation for the Los Angeles area.  If all of these factors align positively then we’ll start to come out of the current market condition, either way we’re in for a prolonged recovery, it’s just a question of how fast we can come out of it.

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14. November 2008 by Ana Connell.

Are you aware that the conforming loan limits put into place by the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 will be going away soon?

The Federal Finance Agency (FHFA) just announced that starting in 2009 loan limits may change depending on where you live. The new limit will be $417,000 for the majority of the country, high cost real estate areas such as Los Angeles, Burbank, Studio City, Toluca Lake, San Fernando Valley etc. will be capped at $625,000. This is important as the current conforming limit for these areas is $729,750.

Many had been wanting the higher limit to remain as the conforming loan limit determines the maximum size loan that Fannie Mae(FNMA) and Freddie Mac( can buy or guarantee. Additionally non-conforming loans usually offer higher interest rates than then conforming loans.

There is still a strong lobbying effort going on to have Congress make the higher limit permanent, we’ll see what happens.
For more information:

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11. November 2008 by Ana Connell.

Toluca Lake Monthly Activity Report: 10-2008

Toluca Lake YTD Activity Report: 1/1/2008 through 10/31/2008

Average days on market are up 17 days from September and average sold price is down $211,915. 

These statistics on face value don’t really tell us much in that there is such a diverse housing inventory in Toluca Lake.  While we have seen pricing pressure, location, size and quality of housing all play a major role.

More information is obtained from looking at the year to date numbers for this time last year:

Toluca Lake YTD Activity Report: 1/1/2007 through 10/31/2007

Average days on market are up 20 days, year over year average sold price is down 18%.

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