Calif. median home price: November 2011: $280,960 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by region/county November 2011: Marin: $736,410 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by region/county November 2011: Madera: $103,330 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. Pending Home Sales Index: November 2011: 109.8, an increase of 11 percent compared with the prior year.
Calif. Traditional Housing Affordability Index: Third quarter 2011: 52 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates: Week ending 1/5/2012 30-yr. fixed: 3.91% fees/points: 0.8% 15-yr. fixed: 3.23 fees/points: 0.8% 1-yr. adjustable: 2.80% Fees/points: 0.6% (Source: Freddie Mac)
While incidences of mortgage fraud have remained steady over the past six quarters overall, submissions of fraudulent employment/income information are on the rise, according to the latest Mortgage Fraud Risk Index by Interthinx.
Employment/income fraud on mortgage applications increased 8.8 percent during the third quarter of 2011.
Applications for home purchase loans dropped by 20 percent in October from September, even though mortgage rates in October held close to their lowest levels of the year. Compared with one year ago, applications for home purchases were unchanged.
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http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2011/11/11/applications-for-purchase-mortgages-declined-in-october/?mod=WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_Real Estate_BLOGSDEVELOPMENTSFEED
Refinancing made up 79 percent of all 2011 mortgage applications as of early October, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. However, industry experts warn against rushing into refinancing, especially for first-timers.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/realestate/mortgages-knowing-when-to-refinance.html?_r=1&ref=realestate
A 4 percent mortgage sounds too good to be true – and for more than 90 percent of borrowers, it is.
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http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/19/real_estate/mortgage_rates/index.htm?iid=Lead
