The most competitive, tightest housing market in decades may finally be loosening its grip, and that could put pressure on overheated home prices. The supply of homes for sale in the second quarter of 2018, the all-important spring market, rose at three times the rate...
Consumer sentiment about future economic conditions in California remained about the same in the second quarter (Q2) of 2018. Planned spending on big-ticket purchases rose from the previous quarter. The outlook for future spending is more positive than negative, according to Chapman University’s California Consumer Sentiment Survey. Last quarter’s...
Will mortgage rates at recent record levels drive down home buying? Mortgage interest rates just hit the highest level in seven years, but those in the lending trenches already knew that, right? That news shouldn’t come as a surprise to those of you who live and breath the...
The mortgage interest deduction (MID), long the politician’s poster child for homeownership, has taken some hits in recent months. The MID has been under fire by Democrats for years for disproportionately benefiting wealthy homeowners. But no one really thought it would actually go away or be reduced...
As we head into 2018, we find ourselves a full decade out from the last debilitating U.S. recession. The resulting economic depression and protracted recovery were followed by years of secular stagnation, a condition in which some economists say we’re still stuck. Technically, the economic recovery began in...
The Southern California median home price in December finally surpassed bubble-era highs, a milestone that took more than a decade to achieve and is once again raising concerns that housing is too costly. The six-county region's median price surged 8.2% from a year earlier to $507,500,...
Pent-up demand from the holidays likely fueled the solid jump in mortgage applications last week. Total application volume rose 8.3 percent during the first week of the year from the previous week, as mortgage rates held below year-ago levels, according to the seasonally adjusted Mortgage Bankers...