Postive Trends in the Market

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful month and is surviving the effects of Los Angeles' June gloom; however, the sun does seem to be breaking through the clouds in more ways than one. We have noticed some positive upswings and trends in the market with the high end of the market still holding strong. Also, the number of homeowners behind on their mortgages is down and mortgage rates have hit all time lows. This month we are almost even with sales in the $5 million and $10 million dollar range. There have been 24 closed sales of $10 million plus to-date, compared to 25 last year. The 74 sales of $5 million plus that have closed thus far is equal to sales in 2010. In addition, there have been 7 sales of $20 million and above, which is up significantly from 2 sales at this time last year. Furthermore, the number of homeowners that are underwater on their mortgage payments appears to be on the decline. Nationally, 11.1 million homeowners were underwater on mortgage payments in December 2010 compared to 10.9 million at the end of March 2011. In Los Angeles, the numbers declined from 24.6% of homeowners behind on their payments at the end of the fourth quarter to just 23.8% this month. In addition, mortgage rates have hit all time lows this week. The average thirty-year fixed mortgage rate ended this week at 4.49%, down from last year's average 4.72%. Fifteen-year fixed mortgage rates fell from 3.74% last week to 3.68%. Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable mortgage rates and one-year Treasury-indexed ARM rates also posted declines from the previous week. Best wishes for a great summer,