The Truth About Mortgage Rates: Where we've been and where we're going. . .

Written by: Amanda Thompson

If you’ve been seriously thinking about buying a home, then you’ve been thinking about mortgage rates.  This April was the perfect time to buy.  Why do I say that?  Because this April  interest rates were at an all time low of 3.4%  (according to freddie mac).   Now they’re creeping back up.  Today,  May 31st they’re 3.8%.

In dollars and cents: According to Trulia, the median home price in Los Angeles County is $405k.  If you put the standard 20% down, on a home that price you’ll need a loan for $324,000.

 IF you bought a home in April, when interest rates were 3.4%, with a 30 yr fixed mortgage you would pay $193,276.51 in total interest.

 IF you buy a home TODAY, while interest rates are 3.8%, with a 30 yr fixed mortgage you will  pay $220,156.86 total interest.  

 

THATS A DIFFERENCE OF $26,880.35!! or as I like to say  a new car.

 

IF you wait until interest rates are 5%, with a 30 yr fixed mortgage you will pay, $302,148.74 total interest.  That means you’ll be spending  $81,991.88 more than if you buy  TODAY.  That could have been my college tuition.  That’s why educated buyers are taking advantage of these low rates .   

 

Well I am here to tell you that Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, stated that as early as June interest rates could rise to 4%.

 

Bernanke also stated the Fed would keep pumping money into the economy until the unemployment rate is at a solid 6.5%.  Which he believes will take place in 2015.  That means they wouldn’t raise  rates significantly but you could see them go up to 5% by the beginning of 2014, after all they went up almost half a percent in the last month!

 

So if you are a buyer on the fence about if you should buy right now or wait, here's my advice:

If you'd rather give your money to the bank, than take a vacation, or buy a new car, I suggest you buy later. 

If you want the most for your money, BUY NOW!!      

 

5 Things That Home Buyers Must Have!!

A recent survey shows that 77 percent of Gen X & Gen Y home buyers want their homes “equipped with the technological capabilities they have grown accustomed to.” 

 

5 Things Home Buyers Want In 2013

 

Many people shopping for real estate today are younger than previous generations of home buyers, and they’re extremely tech savvy. They grew up with smartphones, apps, and Google searches. And they want to use technology not only in their search for a home but throughout the home itself.

A recent survey by Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate shows that 77 percent of Gen X & Gen Y home buyers want their homes “equipped with the technological capabilities they have grown accustomed to.” And it doesn’t stop there. This new generation of home buyers is “rewriting the rules to home ownership and reinterpreting traditional norms to fit their values,” says Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate.

These aren’t your standard-issue young home buyers from 30 or 40 years ago, who were often married couples looking for a starter home in the suburbs to raise a family. Today, single women make up a large percentage of first-time buyers, as do gay couples and the always-connected mobile professional.

As the home buyer evolves, so does the home. Here are five major shifts in homes you can expect to see today and in the coming years.

1. Man Caves and Smart Homes

The media room or “man cave” emerged in real estate marketing a few years back. Many buyers now prefer high-tech rooms with surround sound, large-screen TV’s, and the most up-to-date A/V equipment to the coveted formal dining room of a generation’s past.

But some aren’t limiting technology to just one room. They’re transforming an entire property into a “smart home” with home automation systems.

At a recent Maple Ridge, N.J. open house, the real estate agent demonstrated the features of the home automation system to excited buyers. With one tap on a touch screen, the owner of that home could remotely lock/unlock doors to let in their kids from school, automatically turn on the A/C or heat before they leave work, or monitor the family dog via webcam.

Given how technology is only going to be more important in our lives, transforming a home into a “smart home” is likely to be a good investment.

2. Carrie Bradshaw Closets

In the first Sex and the City movie, Carrie Bradshaw excitedly tours her future Manhattan apartment with Mr. Big — and is woefully disappointed at the tiny closet space. He surprises her by dramatically remodeling the cramped space into a dream closet, with glowing, glass-enclosed sub-closets.

That 2008 movie raised the bar and set the tone for closets. Today, the walk-in closet is a must-have on many buyers’ wish list. Some homeowners are paring down a four-bedroom home to three by transforming one bedroom into an oversized walk-in closet. It’s a far cry from the Victorian era, when bedroom closets were often the size of a coat closet today.

A large closet will probably never go out of style. If you intend to expand a closet or bedroom into a grand walk-in closet, just be careful not to overly customize it. The more specific you get with your taste, the fewer people your closet will appeal to when you go to sell later.

3. Home Offices

Even though a few companies (most notably Yahoo!) are instituting a ban on working from home, most encourage it. And so, in our always-on culture, many people entering the real estate market are tethered to email well into the evening hours and on weekends.

A home office tops this buyer’s wish list. Depending on the number of bedrooms, some will create a home office with built-in desks, shelving and cabinets. The customized home office with built-ins could deter some buyers, however, who feel they’ve lost a bedroom or other space. But many prefer to have one place dedicated to their laptops, printers and work-related stuff. (A dedicated home office is better for tax purposes, too). Either way, try to make your home office as appealing to the next buyer as it is to you. And keep in mind that, provided you don’t create a built-in a desk or bookshelf, the space can easily be reverted back to a bedroom.

4. Hardwood Floors

If you walk into a home that hasn’t been on the market for decades, you’ll probably see a lot of wall-to-wall carpeting. This was common in the mid 20th century. Not only did carpeting help reduce heating bills, it was seen as physically comforting and less sterile.

Fast forward 50 years, a time when most buyers prefer gleaming hardwood floors. Hardwood floors make a space feel less confined and give it a new, clean feeling. No matter how many times the carpet has been cleaned, there’s something about stepping on someone else’s carpet with your bare feet that turns off today’s buyers.

If you see a home you love, with wall-to-wall carpeting you don’t love, ask the agent what’s underneath it. You might be surprised to find a hardwood floor that, with some sanding and polishing, will give the home that updated, lighter look you want.

5. Urban Homes With Amenities

Home buyers used to covet a three-quarter acre lot. Today’s buyers — both the Gen X and Gen Y generations as well as empty-nest retirees—see that same lot and think “maintenance.”

Instead, they’re opting for city living, in big cities like New York as well as smaller urban centers such as Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and San Jose. These buyers seek active lifestyles and opportunities to socialize. They want to be near transit hubs. And they’re looking for buildings with amenities. They want a full-time concierge, a full-service gym, even an in-house spa or business center. If this type of property appeals to you, make sure you’re fully aware of the homeowners’ dues and other associated costs. You might be willing and able to absorb those expenses, but future buyers might not be.

Think Long-Term

Trends in kitchen countertops, paint colors and bath fixtures come and go. They’re based on larger design or style trends and even fashion trends. However, as our society and our culture changes, the larger fixtures and features of our homes change more gradually. They don’t mirror the latest trends so much as they reflect shifts in how we live. As a result, investing in long-term home shifts will usually be a better idea than paying extra money for the latest home fad.

Though the world has changed dramatically in the past 30 years, some things will always remain the same. People will always need a place to rest their head at night. And real estate, despite its recent ups and downs, is still a good investment — if you’re in it for the long haul.

See Original Post from Forbes.com

Home Sales in March Hit Highest Level in Three Years!

Spring home sales rose 1.5% last month to the highest level in nearly three years!

March pending home sales hit highest level in nearly 3 years

 

By Jim Puzzanghera

April 29, 2013, 9:25 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- New contracts signed for home sales rose 1.5% last month to the highest level in nearly three years, though limited supply is causing the market to level off, the National Assn. of Realtors said Monday.

The trade group's Pending Home Sales Index rose to 105.7 in March, up from the previous month's 104.1 and exceeding analysts' expectations.

Compared to a year earlier, the index was up 7% last month, marking the 23rd straight month of year-over-year increases.

•  
• Number of homes entering foreclosure plunges in California
• After a long fall, Antelope Valley is back on upswing
• Housing starts jump dramatically in March; building permits fall
• Obama budget projects $943-million bailout for key housing agency
• L.A., other hot housing markets are getting frothy, report says

The last time the closely watched reading was as high was in April 2010 as people scrambled to sign contracts before the expiration of a special home-buyers tax credit.

QUIZ: How much do you know about mortgages?

New contracts for home sales increased the most last month -- 2.7% -- in Southern states. The West showed a 1.5% increase, while the Midwest was up 0.3% and the Northeast was flat.

The index was another indication of improvement in the housing market. But there are signs the recently hot real-estate market is cooling off, said Lawrence Yun, the group's chief economist.

"Contract activity has been in a narrow range in recent months, not from a pause in demand but because of limited supply," he said. 

Yun expected closings to show little movement in the short term, but said "they should edge up modestly as the year progresses."

The group expects existing home sales to rise to nearly 5 million sales this year, an increase of about 6.5% to 7% over 2012. The median price for existing home sales is expected to rise about 7.5%

Click here to see original post from Latimes.com

A Little Fun Fact about the Picfair Village Historical Background!

Here is Some Great History about the Picfair Village Neighborhood and How it is ON THE RISE!!

Rodrigo Ribera D'Ebre

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Picfair Village

Posted: 02/25/2013 10:52 pm

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Picfair Village , El Mac , Retna , Street Mural , Los Angeles News

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In the late '80s I used to have a friend who lived near Little Ethopia, around Pico and Fairfax. We used to take the RTD from Lennox and get off in the Picfair Village (Pico/Fairfax), once home to the historic Picfair Theatre that opened in 1941 and was torched during the 1992 riots. The community is known for its Spanish Colonial and Art Deco homes, and was once home to the famed crime fiction writer, Walter Mosley.

A few blocks east of Fairfax on Pico sits one of the most breathtaking street murals in the city, a portrait of a chicana with a combination of script-like symbols in the background. The artist, fellow Westsider and L.A. native known as Retna from AWR and MSK, who is of African-American, Cherokee and Salvadoran descent has created an original alphabet direclty inspired by Incan, Egyptian, Arabic and Hebrew hieroglyphics, Asian calligraphy and graffiti.

Central to Retna's work are the neighborhood gang and cultural influences that surrounded him growing up, specifically the elegance of old english lettering used by cholos and the Los Angeles Times. He started with that type of font, then he transitioned to the typical graffitti wild style and lettering, then he began to combine the two. It is the classic story of combining your roots and not abandoning your traditions or background. Like other artists who have used their cultural landscapes to inspire their work and break out into more high-brow mediums, Retna had his first solo show in New York last year and has since been commissioned to do work in London, Los Angeles and Miami. I've seen some of his other murals throughout the city, which I will bring you in the future, so let's be proud and recognize one of our very own local artists disseminating our street culture around the world.

While you're around the Picfair Village enjoying the mural, don't forget to stop by the Paper or Plastik Cafe across the street. It has only been open for about three years, but it has quickly become a neighborhood staple and social destination for conversation and creativity, catering to artists and admirers alike. While I was there, I had a conversation about literature and writing, the couple next to me were talking about editing manuscripts, the people across were talking about music publishing and some Italian dudes were talking about...Italian stuff. I felt right at home.

It is a family-owned business run by an Israeli couple and their daughter who immigrated to the U.S. twenty years ago. The outside seating area is like a rugged park with iron benches and steel furnaces surrounded by plants, while the interior industrial design is filled with exposed rafters, pipes, brick walls and a wooden staircase with a wrought iron railing and a mezzanine that overlooks the cafe. I don't know much about coffee, but the food and atmosphere were amazing.

Click here for original post from huffingtonpost.com