Calif. median home price: December 2011: $285,920 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by region/county December 2011: Marin: $693,880 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by region/county December 2011: Madera: $106,000 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. Pending Home Sales Index: December 2011: 91.6, an increase from the revised 82.5 recorded in December 2010
Calif. Traditional Housing Affordability Index: Third quarter 2011: 52 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates: Week ending 1/26/2012 30-yr. fixed: 3.98% fees/points: 0.7% 15-yr. fixed: 3.24 fees/points: 0.8% 1-yr. adjustable: 2.74% Fees/points: 0.6% (Source: Freddie Mac)
San Diego Union-Tribune
The number of loan servicers taking part in a state mortgage-aid program continues to grow roughly one year after its launch. The Keep Your Home California program now has 55 participating mortgage servicers, up from 21 in June.
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http://utsandiego.com/news/2012/jan/10/more-lenders-added-calif-mortgage-aid-program/
The Los Angeles Times
Newly initiated home foreclosures by large national banks increased 21.1 percent in the three months ending Sept. 30 as mortgage servicers lifted voluntary holds on such activity because of paperwork problems, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reported Wednesday.
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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/12/home-foreclosures-jumped-in-third-quarter-federal-report-says.html
The Los Angeles Times
Americans’ confidence in the economy in November bounced back to its highest level since July, the latest sign that consumers are beginning to feel more cheerful about spending during the holiday shopping season.
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http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-economy-20111129,0,905798.story
California housing production increased for the third consecutive month in October as builders pulled permits for 17 percent more housing units when compared to October 2010, the California Building Industry Association recently announced.
According to statistics compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB), permits were pulled for 2,782 total housing units in October, up 17 percent from the same month a year ago but down 26 percent from September. Permits for single-family homes totaled 1,444, down 4 percent from October 2010 and down 8 percent from the previous month, while multifamily permits totaled 1,338, up 54 percent from a year ago but down 38 percent from September.
For the first ten months of the year, permits were pulled for 37,274 total units, up 7 percent when compared to the first ten months of 2010, when 34,745 permits were issued. Permits for single-family homes were down 14 percent, while permits for multifamily units were up 38 percent.
http://www.cbia.org/go/cbia/newsroom/press-releases/california-housing-production-increases-for-third-consecutive-month-in-october-cbia-announces/
Lower home prices and interest rates led to an increase in home affordability in the third quarter, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® reported.
Making sense of the story
- The percentage of California households that could afford to purchase a median priced home of $292,120 rose to 52 percent in the third quarter, up from 51 percent in the second quarter.
- C.A.R.’s HAI measures the percentage of all households that can afford to purchase a median-priced, single-family home in California. C.A.R. also reports affordability indices for regions and select counties within the state.
- Home buyers needed to earn a minimum annual income of $61,530 to qualify for the purchase of a $292,120 statewide median-priced, existing single-family home in the third quarter of 2011. The monthly payment, including taxes and insurance, would be $1,540, assuming a 20 percent down payment and an effective composite interest rate of 4.63 percent.
- Regionally, housing affordability rose in most counties in the San Francisco Bay Area but was down in Los Angeles County and Fresno County. At 77 percent, San Bernardino County was the most affordable, while San Mateo County was the least affordable, with only 25 percent of households able to purchase the county’s median-priced home.
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http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-housing-affordability-20111111,0,6083426.story
Housing affordability increased in 22 of the state’s 28 metropolitan areas in the third quarter, according to the California Building Industry Association’s Housing Opportunity Index (HOI)
On a statewide basis, the HOI found that a family earning the median income could have afforded 63.5 percent of the new and existing homes that were sold during the third quarter, up from 61.3 percent in the second quarter.
The San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin County metro area was once again California’s least-affordable metro area for the twelfth consecutive quarter, and second in the nation, with just 32.9 percent of the homes sold being affordable to a family earning the median income, up from 27.5 percent in the second quarter. Orange County was California’s second least-affordable market and fifth in the nation (43 percent), followed by Los Angeles County (45.1 percent) and Santa Cruz County (47 percent).
More info
Realtor.com’s monthly housing report — based on information posted on brokers listing services — found the priciest big housing markets in California in September.
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http://lansner.ocregister.com/2011/11/09/wheres-priciest-homes-in-california/136083/
Calif. median home price: September 2011: $287,440 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by region/county September 2011: Marin: $786,590 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by region/county September 2011: Siskiyou County: $113,330 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. Pending Home Sales Index: September 2011: 118., an increase of 8.4 percent compared with a prior year.
Calif. Traditional Housing Affordability Index: Second quarter 2011: 51 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates: Week ending 10/20/2011 30-yr. fixed: 4.11 fees/points: 0.8% 15-yr. fixed: 3.38 fees/points: 0.8% 1-yr. adjustable: 2.94% Fees/points: 0.6% (Source: Freddie Mac)
Calif. median home price: August 2011: $297,060 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by region/county August 2011: Marin: $806,550 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by region/county August 2011: Siskiyou County: $116,670 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. Pending Home Sales Index: August 2011: 125.3, an increase of 12.6 percent compared with a prior year.
Calif. Traditional Housing Affordability Index: Second quarter 2011: 51 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates: Week ending 10/06/2011 30-yr. fixed: 3.94 fees/points: 0.8% 15-yr. fixed: 3.26 fees/points: 0.8% 1-yr. adjustable: 2.95% Fees/points: 0.5% (Source: Freddie Mac)
