Team Stein Blog

Santa Monica SFR™s  

·             The number of sales is UP 37% from 2009

·             The number of sales is down 18% from 2005    

·             The average days on market hovered between high 30™s to mid 40™s days from 2005-2007 then increased sharply in 2008 to 69 days and increased in 2009 to 71 days.   In 2010 the days on market dropped 11% to 63 days.      

·             The average sales price is up .5% from 2009

·             The average sales price is down .6% from 2005  

·             The average price per square foot has hovered from high $700™s to low $800™s from 2005 “ 2008 and dipped significantly in 2009 ($744) and stayed steady in 2010 ($745)  

·             The list price/sale price ratio hovered near 98% from 2005-2007 then declined in 2008 to 94% and went to 93% in 2009 then rose to 95% in 2010

·             The number of sales is UP 43% from 2009

·             The number of sales is down 23% from 2005    

·             The average days on market hovered between 47-55 days from 2005-2007 then increased sharply in 2008 to 85 days and then increased again in 2009 to 98 days.   In 2010 the days on market dropped 10% to 88 days.      

·             The average sales price is down 6.5% from 2009

·             The average sales price is up .2% from 2005  

·             The average price per square foot has risen in 2006 (801.35) and 2007 (862.86) then dipped slightly in 2008 (838.80) and dipped significantly in 2009 (689.22) and dipped slightly in 2010 (683.81)  

·             The list price/sale price ratio hovered near 98% from 2005-2007 then declined in 2008 to 94% and went to 92% in 2009 then rose to 94% in 2010

Real Estate and Interest Rates Market Update from this past week is as follows:

The net job growth was up 39,000, far lower than the 140,000 to 160,000 that was the consensus expectation.   The private sector added 50,000 to the job count, meaning that the government shed workers.   The October non-farm payroll level was revised higher by 21,000.   Overall, the national unemployment rate for November rose to 9.8%.  The official unemployment rate is a function of jobs created and available in the current cycle, and then compared to the number of people seeking employment.   The percentage of the population working and seeking work has dropped in the past two years, so the employment rate and the model assumptions can be misleading.    So while change is always in the future, the pace of change we’ve seen in sectors outside of housing and construction in the past month alone are reasons why we cannot, under any circumstances, expect or rely on a return to U.S. 10 Year less than 2.60% or 30 year fixed rate mortgages at less than 4.375%:     ·                 Pending Home Sales rose over 10% in October, based on Wednesday’s news from NAR:         http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2010/12/strong_phs   ·                 Retails sales are up 6% from year ago levels, based on the last report from the Census Bureau, separate from the cars and trucks, which were up significantly two days ago.   ·                 Goldman Sachs just raised their GDP outlook for next year from 2 to 2.7% and raised 2012 to 3.6%.   ·                 Consumer confidence has risen in the past month, as measured by the Conference Board and the University of Michigan.   ·                 While the working consumer is earning more and spending more, the savings rate is still elevated, and net debt is falling as consumers pay down debt.  This is all good news for the economy, not so good in the short term for interest rates, but still close to historic lows.

Pacific Palisades Junior Women’s Club Home Tour is next weekend on Sunday November 14, 2010!!  

This is the 25th  anniversary of the Tour and the 75th anniversary of the Junior Women’s Club so we have planned the most exciting Home Tour that we have ever had!!  

Addresses of homes are:

200 Toyopa

1128 Cumbre Alta

767 Via De La Paz

Email me and I will be happy to send you a slide show of the Tour and some select photos of the homes on Tour.   It will be an amazing day for all so please join us for the fun!!

Pacific Palisades Junior Women’s Club Home Tour is next weekend on Sunday November 14, 2010!!  

This is the 25th  anniversary of the Tour and the 75th anniversary of the Junior Women’s Club so we have planned the most exciting Home Tour that we have ever had!!  

Addresses of homes are:

200 Toyopa

1128 Cumbre Alta

767 Via De La Paz

Email me and I will be happy to send you a slide show of the Tour and some select photos of the homes on Tour.   It will be an amazing day for all so please join us for the fun!!

For those sober souls who were thrifty long before it became fashionable, the last few years have been intensely aggravating. They did nothing to cause the recession, but they absorbed the pain. Their stock portfolios languished. The values of their homes skidded. Their savings still do not earn enough interest each month to buy a pack of gum. Now, at last, the frugal are celebrating. With a leg up on their less creditworthy neighbors, they are qualifying for refinanced home mortgages at interest rates that in any other recent era would have been considered stealing. Refinancing activity surged in early October when mortgage rates fell for the fifth week in a row, pushing the volume to one of the highest levels of the year.  Many economists expect the trend to continue as the Federal Reserve moves further to bolster the economy. Lower rates are merely a dream if you do not qualify. Early on, as the rates were coming down, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were tightening standards on loans they purchased. Lenders would not refinance loans they could not sell to the holding companies. In 2007, before housing started to slide in earnest, about one in six borrowers had less than 10 percent equity in their property. A small slide in values could wipe them out and encourage defaults, which is exactly what happened to many. Last year, only one in 33 borrowers had that little equity, because of stricter terms by banks. The nice thing about this mini-refi boom is that folks who have got into a loan that is a bit of a ticking time bomb have the opportunity to get out.Another upside of the refinancing surge is that households with more cash in their pocket tend to spend it. And more refinances might also help heal the troubled housing market.  

Mortgage rates fell to the lowest level in decades for the ninth time in 10 weeks, as concerns grow that the economy is weakening.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said  yesterday that the average rate for a 30-year fixed loan was 4.36 percent this week, down from 4.42 percent last week. That’s the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971.   The average rate on 15-year fixed loan dropped to 3.86 percent from 3.90 percent the previous week. That’s the lowest on records starting in 1991.

The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount. The nationwide fee for loans in Freddie Mac’s survey averaged 0.7 a point for 30-year mortgages. They averaged 0.6 of a point for 15-year  mortgages.

Rates have fallen since spring as investors shifted money into the safety of Treasury bonds, lowering their yield. Mortgage rates tend to track those yields.

The low rates have fueled borrowers to refinance their home loans. Refinancing is at its highest level since May 2009 and made up 82.4 percent of all new loan activity.

However, low rates haven’t budged home sales, Those have been stymied by high unemployment, slow job growth and strict credit standards, and have dropped sharply since the expiration of home-buying tax credits in April.

Check this one out

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tOb6Y8XSsA

This home has too many custom features to mention.   Call us for a showing!  

310-902-4436

Check out this listing for under $1mm in Pacific Palisades   –

this one really is great — right near a pool and hot tub and exercise room — but not too close — with amazing rooftop and mountain views from almost every window.   Private patio, clean lines, perfect condition, private and quiet mediterranean living at its finest.   This is a treat.  

Call or email for showing instructions or open house schedule.  

we look forward to showing to you this really beautiful home.  

Just listed a Newer Pacific Palisades Spanish Style Custom Home!!

Check it out at www.16722Bollinger.com

Beautiful hand plastered walls, hardwood floor, incredible chefs kitchen, and Extra Large Kitchen Great Room.   Bonus/Hobby room AND a large media room!   This is an incredibly beautiful, open, bright space in perfect condition ready to move in now.  

Easy to show!   Please call or email for showing instructions and/or open house schedule.  

thank you !