Real Estate Stats 4/28/08

Redondo Beach is divided into 2 area’s as far as real estate is concerned. You have South Redondo which is then subdivided into 3 more sections and North Redondo Beach which is subdivided into 4 more sections.

South Redondo Beach includes area’s 155 (North of Torrance Blvd), 156 (South of Torrance Blvd.) and 157 (South of PCH). There are currently 163 properties for sale, 49 single family homes and 115 condo’s and townhomes.

North Redondo Beach includes area’s 151 (Villas North), 152 (Villas South), 153 (El Nino) and 154 (Golden Hills). There are currently 166 properties for sale, 68 single family homes and 98 condo’s and townhomes.

Understanding what causes Interest Rate Movement.

Stocks, Bonds and Mortgage-backed securities all compete for the same investment dollars. There is only so much money to be invested. When the Federal Reserve feels that interest rates need to be lowered to stimulate the economy (as we have seen recently, this reduction of rates often causes the stock market to rally. When the stock market rallies, the money to invest in the stock market comes from selling off other investments, including mortgage-backed securities. Unfortunately, when they are sold off to stimulate the stock market, this causes the bond market to go down, which makes yields or put another way, interest rates for home loans to go up.

Sometimes, when the FED has increased interest rates (FED funds or Discount rate) this has caused the stock market to sell off (for fear that corporate profits will be affected) resulting in investors looking for other paces to invest their money. Such a haven has been mortgage-backed securities, which cause mortgage rates to drop.  

So if you want to figure out which way the mortgage market interest rates are going, just follow the bond market.

1206 Catalina Ave #A, Redondo Beach, CA. 90277 FOR SALE

Available for: $1,369,000

This is a beautifully maintained Townhome walking distance to the Ocean, Riviera Village and Pier. It has two bedrooms on the street level and the master is on the 2nd level on the Living area. Up one more set of stairs is the mezzinine office area with access to one of the 3 balconies. This is a must see if your goal is to live near the water.

See it on the net at: http://1206CatalinaAve.com

For a private showing call Jack McSweeney - RE/MAX Palos Verdes Execs at 310 346-0391

Now is a great time to be a Buyer in Redondo Beach!

Now is a great time to be a Buyer.  Our Redondo Beach market has stablized… our current inventory of 88 single family homes For Sale came down by about 15 homes from last month.  This is a big change from the last quarter in 2007, when the inventory was around 127 homes for sale in the city.  Why did the inventory come down?  There are a few reasons… 1)  The December number of units sold was higher than the month before, and 2)  Interest rates are coming down fast now..  3) People love Redondo Beach more and more over the other beach cities! Do yourself a favor this weekend,,, Go look at open houses.. most of them will be crowded with homebuyers!

Redondo Beach after a breeze

My wife and I decided to take a stroll on the “Esplanade” a few days ago before the latest storm blew in with our dog, Diego. In my pocket was my trusty camera, a kodak, ‘duel lens’ ultrawide easyshare V705. The cool thing is that it is so small, I find myself carrying it with me everywhere. Take a look at one of the pictures I snapped with it…

I actually bought it because I needed a wide angle lens for my real estate listings, but it has definitely become my every day camera. it also takes video’s. Oh, did I mention it’s 7.1 Mega Pixels and it was inexpensive too!

I am for anything that can show the city I live in as it really is… beautiful!

Nationwide - Existing Home Sales Figures

Existing-home sales managed a 0.4% gain during November, the first increase in nine months, but prices tumbled. Home resales rose to a 5.00 million annual rate, up from October’s revised 4.98 million annual pace, the National Association of Realtors said. The median price of a previously owned home was $210,200 in November, down 3.3% from $217,300 in November 2006. Inventories of homes fell 3.6% at the end of November to 4.27 million available for sale, which represented a 10.3-month supply at the current sales pace.  (WSJ)

California busting at the seams.

California is popular! The population was 37,771,000 as of July 1, 2007, up 11.5% since the 2000 census. Remarkably the annual growth rate has declined from 2% a year to around 1.2%.

Los Angeles County has nearly 10.3 million people, which only grew by one-half of 1 percent this year. I guess it slowed because more people are moving to less expensive areas of the country. I believe the traffic, day in and day out, has a lot to do with people reconsidering California too.

Don’t worry, California as a whole, gained over 200,000 legal and illegal immigrants, a net increase in population of 111,000, even after 89,000 left the State last year. We are busting at the seams!

Loan protection?

Most people you ask have no idea what the Federal reserve does. Sure, we know they meet once a month or so and raise or lower interest rates but couldn’t we just let the market determine that? Why so much big government, always looking out for us, suposedly?

Now they want to impose rules on lenders to safeguard us some more. They are proposing:  1) Barring or restricting lenders from penalizing subprime borrowers — those with tarnished credit or low incomes — who pay their loans off early. 2) Forcing lenders to make sure borrowers set aside money to pay for taxes and insurance. 3) Barring or limiting loans that do not require proof of borrower’s income. 4) Setting new standards for how lenders determine a borrower’s ability to repay a home loan. All of this seems like common sense to me.

I am a firm believer in the free market. I don’t think the Fed making new rules solves anything. I think borrowers have to make their own decisions and Lenders have to qualify people for loans they can afford. Easy credit is a good thing for qualified borrowers, and a bad thing for the non-qualified.

What do you think?

Real Estate Stats 12/13/07

Redondo Beach is divided into 2 area’s as far as real estate is concerned. You have South Redondo which is then subdivided into 3 more sections and North Redondo Beach which is subdivided into 4 more sections.

South Redondo Beach includes area’s 155 (North of Torrance Blvd), 156 (South of Torrance Blvd.) and 157 (South of PCH). There are currently 119 properties for sale, 35 single family homes and 84 condo’s and townhomes.

North Redondo Beach includes area’s 151 (Villas North), 152 (Villas South), 153 (El Nino) and 154 (Golden Hills). There are currently 132 properties for sale, 56 single family homes and 76 condo’s and townhomes.