California Real Estate Blog
U.S. Home Price Index Hits Yet Another New High
Housing continued to exceed expectations, even during the winter months when demand tends to cool down. With existing home sales up over 20% from a year ago, the CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index clocked a 9.49% surge in November – a new high since February 2014. New record lows for mortgage rates helped lure in home buyers. At the same [...]
New California Homestead Equity Protection Law
Effective January 1, 2021, Assembly Bill 1885 increases the amount of home equity protected against creditors, likely preventing more owners from losing their homes in bankruptcy. The new homestead protection starts at a floor of $300,000 and caps at $600,000. The previous homestead exemption ranged from $75,000 for singles, $100,000 for a married couple and $175,000 for seniors [...]
Happy New Year!
Cheers to the New Year! 2020... We happily say Goodbye. Let's hope 2021 brings better days for all of us! May success knock on your door this year May all your joys multiply May you find peace, love and light Wishing you and yours a Very Happy and Healthy New Year! All the [...]
San Diego Home Prices have Biggest Gain in 6 Years
San Diego home prices continued their climb in October, rising 11.6% — the highest in more than six years. Prices in America’s Finest City increased the third-fastest annually in the nation, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices reported. Only Phoenix, up 12.7%, and Seattle, up 11.7%, had bigger gains. The last time prices in the San Diego metropolitan [...]
Happy Holidays Everyone!
May the joy of this holiday season fill your hearts with love and your homes with peace, warmth and happiness. Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas! All the Best, Gregg Watkins Watkins Realty Group
Southern California Home Prices Rise Nearly 11%
The Southern California median home price rose by double digits for the fourth consecutive month, underscoring strong demand for housing during the Covid-19 pandemic. The six-county region’s median price was $603,000 in November, a 10.8% increase from a year earlier, according to data released by DQNews. Sales rose 18.9% from November 2019. Experts say the upswing in recent [...]
San Diego Unemployment Dropped to 7.7% in October
San Diego County’s unemployment rate hit its lowest since the pandemic began — 7.7 percent — in October. However, the numbers are from before the region went back into the state’s restrictive COVID purple tier, which meant many businesses had to scale back workforces and possibly cut employees. October marked five consecutive months of reduced jobless claims. In [...]
Mortgage Forbearances Down Slightly, led by Fannie and Freddie
The U.S. forbearance rate measuring the share of mortgages with suspended payments fell slightly to 5.9%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Though the rate fell 2 basis points, the decline has begun to slow after two weeks of what MBA’s chief economist Mike Fratantoni called “a flurry of borrowers” exiting as they reached the six-month mark. The [...]
San Diego Home Prices Increasing 3rd-fastest in Nation
San Diego home prices went up the third-fastest in the nation in August and appreciated at a pace not seen in more than two years. Prices in the San Diego metropolitan area were up 7.6%, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices reported. It was the fastest increase since April 2018 and the first time the region cracked the [...]
Downtown San Diego Construction Continues at a Rapid Pace
Logic dictates construction during a global pandemic would halt. But, the economic effects of Covid-19 are anything but logical. The transformation of downtown San Diego’s skyline has continued at a furious pace throughout the crisis, so much so that a visit to some parts can feel like you accidentally walked into a massive construction zone. There are 14 [...]
Fed Pledges to keep Interest Rates near Zero through 2023
The Federal Reserve committed to do more to help the US economic recovery, promising more asset purchases and lower interest rates for even longer than it previously expected. The Federal funds rate remained unchanged at zero to a quarter percentage point, and will stay there until America's labor market has recovered "consistent with the Committee's assessments of maximum [...]
San Diego Home Prices Rising 7th Fastest in the Nation
San Diego home prices continued to rise in the fourth month of the pandemic and outpaced all other California cities and much of the nation. With all the data now in, prices in the San Diego metropolitan area were up 5 percent in June, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices reported. That was more than the nationwide average [...]