Coachella Valley mortgage updates.
Mortgage Updates: Here’s to hoping for an Interest rate cut in September, but mortgage rates have come down so that’s good news! From everything I’m reading and what I’m seeing here on the streets in the Coachella Valley, inventory is still low and prices are hanging firm. We always have less numbers of listings in the summers, but we should have new listings hitting about mid October. If you are looking to buy or sell in the Coachella Valley, give local resident and agent, Kim Kelly a call at 760-285-3578.
Home Price Gains are still strong: Core logic and other major indexes such as Case-Shiller and the Federal Housing Finance Agency are seeing home price gains. These reports still show that housing is a good investment for wealth creation.
Rising Housing Inventory vs. the Media: Listings are up 37% from a year ago. These increases are from very low levels as active listings are still down approx. 30% from pre pandemic levels. This build up is very concentrated as there are only 4 states, Texas, Idaho, Florida and Tennessee, with higher inventory levels than 5 years ago. In some parts of the Northeast, listings are down 65-75% since 2019. Here in the desert, inventory is still tight, and demand will probably rise as I rates come down further, meaning home prices probably will not drop.
Unemployment Claims remain elevated: Both Initial and Continuing Claims have trended higher this summer when compared to the start of the year, with Continuing Claims topping 1.8 million each week since the start of June. This shows that the pace of layoffs over the last two months has picked up at the same time employers have slowed down hiring. This weakening labor market suggests the I rate may very well be lowered. (courtesy of Walter Neil of Franklin Loan Center, Palm Desert, CA.)
