WEEKLY MARKET UPDATE June 10th, 2024

June is a significant month for everyone in the housing community as we celebrate National Homeownership Month. This is a time to reflect on the value of owning a home, not just for individuals and families but for the entire fabric of our communities and neighborhoods across America. Homeownership means fulfilling a personal dream and contributing to the more significant American dream. Let's share the joys of homeownership this month and inspire others to embark on this journey.

The housing market continued its surprising story in April. Job growth slowed, making investors happy and bringing down mortgage rates a bit. Homes inventory is improving gradually. In Long Beach last week, buyers resisted making complete offers, and most new listings still needed to change their status from active to under contract/pending. This may not be valid for southern California, but this is my experience.

Here is our highlight of last week:

• Job growth took a break, bringing mortgage rates down to around 7.2%.
• Finding a house is still a treasure hunt, but prices keep defying expectations, going up and up!
• Even though unemployment claims are a bit higher, they were strangely steady for a long time, so this might be a blip.
• Home price growth has consistently surprised experts for months, exceeding forecasts by a good margin.

As discussed in the NAR case, The National Association of Realtors (NAR) settlement aims to change how real estate agents are compensated. Here are the goals:

• There will be no more advertising commission rates on the MLS: Agents can't use the MLS listing system to advertise how much they charge buyers.
• Written agreements are key: Agents who help buyers find homes must have a written agreement with them upfront.
• Compensation is still negotiable: Buyers and agents can still agree on how much the agent will be paid, but those deals can't be advertised on the MLS.

This is all to increase transparency and ensure buyers understand how agents get paid. It's still early days (final approval in November), but these changes could affect how you find and work with a real estate agent.

Well, I hope this information is helpful to you. Please don't hesitate to call me with questions or suggestions.