by Keeping Current MattersAre you considering buying your first home? If so, it can be helpful to know what led other people to make that decision. According to a recent survey of first-time homebuyers by PulteGroup:“When asked why they purchased their first home recently, the answer was simple: because they wanted to. Either the desire to stop renting or recognition that homeownership is a smart financial investment was the main motivator for 72% of respondents.”While that survey looked specifically at first-time homebuyers buying newly built homes, the same sentiment is true for just about anyone buying their first home. Here’s a bit more information to help you think about those two benefits of homeownership to see if they’re a key factor for you too.When You Buy a Home, You Have . . .

by Keeping Current MattersIf you’re thinking of making a move, one of the biggest questions you have right now is probably: what’s happening with home prices? Despite what you may be hearing in the news, nationally, home prices aren’t falling. It’s just that price growth is beginning to normalize. Here’s the context you need to really understand that trend.In the housing market, there are predictable ebbs and flows that happen each year. It’s called seasonality. Spring is the peak homebuying season when the market is most active. That activity is typically still strong in the summer but begins to wane as the cooler months approach. Home prices follow along with seasonality because prices appreciate most when something is in high demand.That’s why there’s a . . .

by Keeping Current MattersIn today’s housing market, there are two main affordability challenges impacting buyers: mortgage rates that are higher than they’ve been the past couple of years, and rising home prices caused by low inventory. To overcome those challenges, many people are working with their agents to find less expensive homes. And with newly built homes making up a historically large percentage of the total available inventory today, that search often includes brand new homes.People Are Spending Less on Newly Built HomesThe graph below uses the latest information from the Census to show, in June, more of the newly built home sales in this country were in lower price ranges than in 2022:Last year, only 58% of newly built home sales were less than $500,000. . . .

by Keeping Current MattersWondering if it still makes sense to sell your house right now? The short answer is, yes. Especially if you consider how few homes there are for sale today.You may have heard inventory is low right now, but you may not fully realize just how low or why that’s a perk when you go to sell your house. This graph from Calculated Risk can help put that into perspective: As the graph shows, while housing inventory did grow slightly week-over-week (shown in the blue bar), overall supply is still low (shown in the red bars). Compared to the same week last year, supply is down roughly 10% – and it was already considered low at that time. But, if you look further back, you’ll see inventory is down even more significantly.To gauge just how far off from . . .

by Keeping Current MattersIf you’re following the news today, you may feel a bit unsure about what’s happening with home prices and fear whether or not the worst is yet to come. That’s because today’s headlines are painting an unnecessarily negative picture. If we take a year-over-year view, home prices did drop some, but that’s because we’re comparing to a ‘unicorn’ year when prices peaked well beyond the norm.To avoid an unfair comparison to that previous peak, we need to look at monthly data. And that tells a very different and much more positive story. While local home price trends still vary by market, here’s what the national data tells us.The graphs below use recent monthly reports from three sources to show the worst . . .

One of the biggest challenges in the housing market right now is how few homes there are for sale compared to the number of people who want to buy them. To help emphasize just how limited housing inventory still is, let’s take a look at the latest information on active listings, or homes for sale in a given month, as it compares to more normal levels.According to a recent report from Realtor.com:  “On average, active inventory in June was 50.6% below pre-pandemic 2017–2019 levels.”The graph below helps illustrate this point. It uses historical data to provide a more concrete look at how much the numbers are still lagging behind the level of inventory typical of a more normal market (see graph below):It’s worth noting that 2020-2022 are not included in this graph. . . .

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The Academic Complex 1 project, which is currently being designed, consists of a new 80,000 SF building, new vehicular parking with passenger pick-up/drop-off area, underground stormwater tanks, and approximately 165,000 SF of site development. The building will contain space for curriculums such as Business, Computer Science, Information Systems, Math, Psychology, Sociology, Ethnic Studies and Emergency Services. Additionally, the scope will include connections to LAVC’s Central Plant, site & building utilities, new and existing City utility connections, disconnections, and relocations, new ADA paths of travel, and improvements to the Burbank Blvd. and Ethel St. right-of-ways 
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by Keeping Current MattersThe process of buying a home can feel a bit intimidating, even under normal circumstances. But today’s market is still anything but normal. There continues to be a very limited number of homes for sale, and that’s creating bidding wars and driving home prices back up as buyers compete over the available homes.Navigating all of this can be daunting if you’re trying to do it alone. That’s why having a skilled expert to guide you through the homebuying process is essential, especially today. Bankrate shares this perspective: “Advice and guidance from a professional real estate agent can be invaluable, particularly amid a hot or unpredictable housing market.”Here are just a few of the ways a real estate expert makes a big . . .

Even though home prices have moderated over the last year, many homeowners still have an incredible amount of equity. But what is equity? In the simplest terms, equity is the difference between the market value of your home and the amount you owe on your mortgage. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) explains how your equity grows over time:“Housing wealth (home equity or net worth) gains are built up through price appreciation and by paying off the mortgage.”How Your Equity Can Help You Achieve Your GoalsThe equity you build up over the years can be used to your advantage when you sell your current house and buy your next home. If you no longer have the space you need, it might be time to move into a larger home. Or it’s possible you have too much space and need . . .