NATIONAL REAL ESTATE MARKET HAS UPWARDS BOUNCE

- Although I reported at the 1st of the month that our local north county market had a slight dip in August , the national stats are now in and are better. Go to http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/real-estate-market-rebounds-slightly-with-better-than-expected-sales-56120.aspx

LOWER INTEREST RATES NOW MAKE 15 YEAR LOANS ATTRACTIVE--

With the new interest rates there is now an opportunity for buyers & existing homeowners who want to refinance their existing loans to now build equity faster. Go to http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-refinance-20100917,0,4880556.story

Near Record Home Affordability

The share of homes that families making the national median income could afford to buy remained above 70 percent for the sixth quarter in a row, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI).
Nationally, the HOI was at 72.3 percent in the second quarter, unchanged from the same time period last year and close to the index's record-high 72.5 percent, set in first-quarter 2009.
The HOI tracks the share of homes sold in a particular area that would have been affordable to a family earning the local median income. The index assumes a family can afford to spend 28 percent of its gross monthly income on housing, according to NAHB's website.

August North County Real Estate Statistics

Sales(Closed escrows) for all types of real estate were down 18% in August compared to July and down 15% from August of 2009. Sales for the 1st 8 months of this year are down 5% from the 1st 8 months of 2009. Pending sales (open escrows) are down 3% from July of this year. Properties on the market are down 5% from July and off 2% from same time last year.