Hello December!
We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and that you're now gearing up for the December holidays! Many buyers (and by extension, sellers) are celebrating a bit early as mortgage rates have taken a nice dip... prompting buyers to jump into the market and lock in rates. Quite a few lenders are also offering no-cost refis within a certain number of years, which further helps to give buyers confidence to move forward with a purchase. Read below for more insights, and see how home prices have historically risen faster than the rate of inflation.
Did You Know?
* The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($1,089,300 or less in LA) decreased to 7.41% from 7.61%. Applications to refinance a home loan increased 2% for the week and were 4% lower than the same week one year ago. Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home increased 4% week to week but were still 20% lower than one year ago. (CNBC)
* JPMorgan Private Banking believes the path to home affordability—for starter homes as well as the luxury market— is for wages to rise and catch-up to meet the higher costs. How long might it take to restore average levels of affordability, based on historical ratios of home prices to income and factoring in mortgage rates, if a) incomes were to keep growing at their recent pace, b) mortgage rates didn’t decline, and c) home values stayed at all-time highs? The analysis of the timing is notably sensitive to mortgage rates. Based on current trends, housing affordability could be restored in 3.5 years. If the market’s pricing of mortgage rates were to fall by just one percentage point, U.S. homes could be affordable again in just 2 years.
* The research team at Compass put together a chart to show the Q3 median house price appreciation (nationally) since 1990. Over the long term, home-price appreciation has far outpaced inflation!
* We thought this was a funny quote, read in the Financial Times: “Staying subscribed to real estate alerts (after buying a home) is like staying on dating apps after you’ve gotten married.”
LOCAL HAPPENINGS
DECEMBER 18, 5:00PM
Yuletide Cinemaland Tim Burton Night at Heritage Square Museum
"This immersive experience is brimming with festive decor, guided Victorian home tours, delectable offerings from food trucks, a bustling market filled with vendors, heartwarming films under the starry night sky, enchanting Santa appearances, delightful photo ops, and full bars serving up an array of holiday-inspired cocktails."
