The good, the bad and the ugly. The good news is we are still in one of the strongest seller's market in years, as noted in the video below. Most areas saw price increases over the last three months and inventory is slightly better, but still dismal compared to previous years. According to the California Association of Realtors, home prices are up 7% in LA County and we saw gains locally as well, as noted in the chart below.
Continuing the good news, mortgage rates dipped again, to their lowest level since 1971, according to Freddie Mac. The Fed met and pretty much gave the guidance that rates will remain low for some time.
The bad saw the Treasury sell $108 billion dollars in treasury bonds to finance the stimulus and the government with tepid response, which applied some upward pressure on interest rates.
The ugly saw volatility come back into the stock market, which tends to affect consumer sentiment. With the White House Covid outbreak, the election, the upcoming appointment of a new Supreme Court Justice and the ongoing pandemic, my guess is the volatility is here to stay for a while.
