Chart Porn
I completely disagree with Property Radar’s forecast, but their charts are awesome.
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Goldilocks market continues – prices highest in 9 years
Prices jumped again last month in all 6 SoCal counties, and will continue to climb through the summer. See details in L.A. Biz.
Freddie Mac forecasts best year for housing in a decade
Bank forecasts are usually conservative/clueless, but Freddie Mac is right on the $.
Square’s new business loans fund in 1 day
Silicon Valley startup Square wants to be the Tesla of banks. Their new business loans are easy to get and lightning fast.
So Cal Market Update
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
If you’ve been waiting for a price correction to buy, I’m afraid you’re out of luck. The Goldilocks recipe of slow but steady economic growth, strong-enough demand, low inventory and amazing interest rates are all still here and will continue all year. The graphics in today’s L.A. Times story by Andrew Khouri do not lie.
L.A. Times hypes Inglewood real estate market (Leo quoted)
The Inglewood real estate market began heating up when news broke that the Rams were coming, but REALLY took off after this L.A. Times article came out. I’ll never go to a game, but the stadium is so cool!
L.A. Times – L.A. County’s Hottest Zip Codes
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- East L.A. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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- Hermosa Beach (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
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- Lincoln Heights (Realtor.com)
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- Manhattan Beach (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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- Playa Del Rey (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)
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- Toluca Lake
Great article by the L.A. Times’ Andrew Khouri Saturday, basically showing where to buy, no matter what price range you’re in. The two hottest cities last year? Santa Monica and Hermosa Beach (fool’s luck: the 2 cities I’m most invested in ☺).
Loan Approval in 10 Minutes: Rocket Mortgage from Quicken Loans
Want to buy a house but don’t like being tortured by mortgage brokers? Quicken Loans has a new “rocket loan” mobile app called Rocket Mortgage which touts loan approval in 10 minutes, all done from your phone, without having to talk to a single human. The programs aren’t optimal, but welcome to the future! Expect all the major lenders to eventually follow suit, as they vie for those coveted millennial buyers.
Hometrackr: Like CarFax for Homes
With Hometrackr you can learn about the history of a home before you buy: fire/water damage, permit records, inspections, etc. Seems like a good tool, I think this one is going to take off.
Fed rate hike imminent, but mortgage rates could actually drop
On December 16, for the first time in 9 years, the Fed will finally raise short term interest rates. Despite what the media is saying, mortgage rates will remain stable, and could actually drop a bit. Inflation is still very low, and the real estate market is still soft. Lenders know a significant rate hike would ice the market. They tried a couple summers ago and it was a fiasco. Sales just stopped, and a lot of mortgage reps were laid off. The economy is slowly improving, but not enough to support higher rates.
