Late 2009 South Orange County Housing Update
Hello again – I hope your Thanksgiving Day ( And Black Friday.) went beautifully! In our local housing market, the number of available houses is now the lowest in at least a few years.  In Coto de Caza, for example, it went from a previous low of 131 houses, back in mid January, to hovering around 150 in the Spring, but has since steadily declined, to now being less than 115. Correspondingly, the number of houses in escrow has followed a slightly different path over that time, from a low of 9 in January,  up to a high in mid-summer close to 40, but recently staying in the high 20’s to the low 30’s.  Prices in the lowest ranges have nudged up from their l

The Home Price Index Shows Home Values Increasing. Case-Shiller Agrees.
It’s official — home prices are no longer in free fall.  According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Home Price Index posted its first quarterly increase since 2007 last quarter. The news was reported Tuesday. The Home Price Index is an interesting metric.  It’s huge in its scope, accounting for every home sold in the country

One Reason Why Mortgage Rates Are Back To All-Time Lows
Home affordability improved this week after the Federal Reserve released its November 3-4, 2009 meeting minutes. The FOMC Minutes is a companion to the Federal Reserve’s post-meeting press release. It’s released 3 weeks after the Fed adjourns and details the internal debates that shape our nation’s monetary policy.  As compared to the press release, the minutes can be rather lengthy. November’s press release

Existing Home Sales Blow Past Expectations
Another month, another piece of evidence that the housing market is in recovery. Existing Home Sales surged in October as the nation’s homebuyers took advantage of low mortgage rates, low list prices, and, for some, a generous tax credit. Home resales are

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : November 23, 2009
Mortgage markets worsened last week on a mixed bag of economic data.  Inflation data came in soft, but so did the start of the holiday shopping season. For the first time in a month, mortgage rates worsened last week, adding roughly 0.125 percent on conforming fixed-rate products, and a little bit more on ARMs. Despite rates worsening, there was still some good news for home buyers and would-be refinancers. Mortgage rate volatility was markedly lower than in recent