Latest News and Topics of Interest: The biggest news to develop in March was the long awaited arrival of lower interest rates. For months I have referenced rumors and mortgage insider speculation regarding falling mortgage rates, and in March it finally came true. March began with average 30 yr. fixed mortgage rates in the Western U.S. at 5.06% and by month's end they had dropped to 4.71% (both with about 1 point). Since the keys to the housing recovery are low interest rates, fewer foreclosures and lower unemployment rates, and the last two are difficult to control, you can expect government intervention in the treasury markets to continue and mortgages to remain cheap for the foreseeable future.
Housing bottom looming?: Time will tell, but one of the interesting stories I have been following is the drop in available bank owned homes in Folsom. Over the course of the past year, during any given month, there has been between 26-35 bank owned homes for sale in Folsom. At the end of March, the number of bank owned homes had dropped to under 20. If this trend continues, more and more home buyers will have to turn to "non-distressed" houses to buy their next home. This would put upward pressure on prices.
Regional Snapshot: 1,734 homes sold in Sacramento County last month, a 160% increase in home sales when compared to March of 2008. Of the 1,734 sales, 1,220 were bank owned (70%), 215 were short sales (12%) and the average home sales price was $187,686.
El Dorado Hills: EDH home sales perked up a bit in March with 40 closed escrows. 19 of the sales were bank repo's and 6 were short sales, making distressed home sales 63% of the volume. The average sales price rose to $580k with an avg. of $168 per sq. foot.
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