American Pacific Mortgage

American Pacific Mortgage

Friday, August 5, 2022

HOT AUGUST NIGHTS but COOLING REAL ESTATE MARKET!

 

REAL ESTATE MARKET

The housing market continues to slow as more homes come on market and prices fall, while rates level off and drop somewhat, averaging around the 5% mark give or take.  The average home price across the state and in Los Angeles County is $863K...and a whopping $1.25 million in Orange County—which marks a 15% increase over the last twelve months. 

OPPORTUNITY

Pending sales are down 40% from a year ago, and mortgage applications across the country are at a low of well over 20 years.  Some buyers are purportedly walking away.   This does create a great opportunity for buyers who were stymied over the last year making multiple offers without success.  So long as they can qualify with higher rates, there is much more opportunity to negotiate and even offer less than list price, which was unthinkable a year ago.  Or, negotiate a big seller credit to closing costs or buy down the interest rate!

WEDDED BLISS

We expect to see a total of 2.5 million weddings across the country in 2022, which is a national record.  COVID caused many weddings to be postponed and they are all catching up now.  This should provide more demand for housing as the newly married couples set up house.  New home construction has slowed quite a bit, and new home sales are way off.  Builders are cutting prices, and offering big incentives to buy down interest rates to help their buyers qualify. 

We love working with first-timers to help them plan their entry into he housing market and will show them how much they can increase their net worth with home ownership vs. renting.

REVERSE FINANCING

Reverse Loans continue to pick up steam as baby boomers realize how much equity they have in their homes, and are reluctant to move, knowing prices are higher across the country.  These programs now go down to age 55 in some cases, and loan amounts go higher up to multi-millions, depending on property value and program selected. 

SUMMER FUN

We have been enjoying the summer days and warm evenings, and hope your summer is going smoothly.  The tales of airline delays and cancellations have taken a bit of the blush off summer air travel.  We plan to take a drive up the state to visit relatives, camp out a couple days in the Sierra foothills, and tour the central coast.  (maybe a little wine tasting included!) Luckily gas prices seem to be coming down a bit.

Be safe and have fun!

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