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The economy continues to bounce back but is recovering at a moderate pace. While many economic indicators are clearly showing signs of improvement, it will take time to get back to the pre-pandemic level as many uncertainties remain unanswered.The housing market, on the other hand, remains a rare bright spot even as it transitionsinto the traditional slow time of the year. While the market is showing signs of leveling offin recent weeks, it is still stronger than normal as low rates and renewedinterest in home buying continue to fuel housing demand.

California Job Market Is Slowly Recovering: Employment conditions continued to improve in California, with the unemployment rate falling to 11.0 percent in September, as nonfarm payrolls added a net total of 96,000 jobs. California has added back more than 994,000 jobs since May, but the state employment level is still below the February peak by 1.6 million. With job growth moderating in the last three months and not expected to see significant surge in the last quarter of 2020, the recovery will take some time.

Retail Sales Top Estimates as Consumer Sentiment Continues to Rise: Despite slow growth in the job market, consumers continued to spend at the fastest pace in three months. Retail sales shot up 1.9 percent in September, more than double the consensus expectation. The unexpected big gain in spending reflects that consumers could be tapping into their elevated savings, as the personal saving rate remains high at 14.1 percent in August after peaking at 33.6 percent in April. Meanwhile, consumer sentiment continued to improve as the index released by the University of Michigan climbed again and continued to move in the right direction.

Housing Starts Fall Short of Expectation, but Builder Confidence Remains Upbeat: Housing starts rose 1.9 percent in in September, with multifamily starts declining 16.3 percent, while single-family starts jumped 8.5 percent. As apartment constructions continued to slow, single-family homebuilding gained momentum as housing demand remained robust since the pandemic lockdown was lifted. Homebuilder confidence remains elevated as the National Association of Home Builders housing market index climbed to the highest level on record. Low rates and ongoing shift in housing preferences to adjust to new COVID norms are primary factors for the rise in developers’ confidence.

Buying Season Continues to Slow but Fall Will Likely Be Stronger than Normal: The statewide average daily sales declined again and dipped to the lowest level in five weeks, suggesting a continued slowdown of the extended home buying season. The momentum of housing demand has not completely fizzled out, however, as pending sales inched up slightly from the prior week. This could suggest a stronger-than-normal fall market if rates continue to stay near record lows. Tight supply remains an issue though, as average daily new listings were down 6.5 percent and reached the lowest level since early July.

The market will likely moderate in the upcoming weeks/months as we move into the holiday season. Despite the anticipated seasonal slowdown, market participants remain positive, at least for now, about the outlook of the housing sector.

Source: https://www.car.org/marketdata/marketminute

Congratulations to my buyers of 16125 Oakley Rd, Ramona, CA! We were able to find these first home buyers a wonderful spot in Ramona that I hope they will enjoy for many years with their new baby on the way! If you are interested in purchasing or selling a home please reach out to Garrett Trainor at First Line Realty. Property With A Purpose!

• Just Sold September 2020
• Selling Agent
• Sale Price: $580,000
• 4 Bed / 2 Bath
• Year Built: 1977
• Home Size: 1,905 Sq Ft
• Community: Ramona

Back in April, NBC 7 reported the coronavirus had hit the local housing market in San Diego. Listings plummeted and homes on the market were taking longer to sell. Fast forward to today, realtors say inventory is still low, but homes on the market are selling extremely fast. 

According to CoreLogic data, last month’s home prices in San Diego County blew past previous records to hit an all-time high of $634,000, which is a 9% price increase over the year before. “Within a day, I will get a bunch of calls. Within two or three days you’ll get people who are putting in offers,” a local realtor said. 

Despite high unemployment and a global pandemic, home prices continue to climb due to historically low-interest rates and low inventory. Earlier this month, mortgage rates dropped below 3% for a 30-year-fixed rate mortgage, the first time in nearly 50 years. Last year, you were seeing that balance where you had that 30 days on the markets, which is more typical. Now, you are seeing multiple offers where its taking 3 or 4 days.

There are other reasons for the scarcity of homes on the market. Some people think selling now could expose them to COVID-19 by letting people into their homes. Plus, buyers are seeing increased value in homeownership as they are stuck working and taking classes from home. You have those that are sitting in their homes and saying this is a little more cramped for me. I have to stay here for I don’t know how long of a time. We need more space to work, more space to move around.

Across the six-county Southern California region, The biggest gain was in San Bernardino County. But this real estate trend is being seen nationwide. The Commerce Department recently reported that construction of new U-S. homes surged nearly 23% in July as homebuilders bounced back after a coronavirus lull.

Source: https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/looking-to-buy-a-house-during-the-pandemic-wait-in-line/2395930/

Let’s take a look at some of the key metrics comparing July data in Poway for 2019 vs 2020. 

2019 -> 2020 Numbers Respectively:

• New Listings: 70 -> 49
• Pending Sales: 52 -> 49
• Closed Sales: 53 -> 48
• Median Sales Price $780,000 -> $832,500
• Percent of Original List Price Received: 96.7% -> 99.2%
• Days on Market Until Sale 36 -> 23
• Inventory of Homes for Sale 102 -> 39
• Months Supply of Inventory 2.6 -> 1.0

New listings dropped 30.0% and median sales price increased by 6.7%. Inventory of homes for sale dropped 61.8% which is causing a surge in demand with far less supply than the previous year. With the favorable current interest rates and far less homes on the market results in a surge of purchase price. Houses are selling quicker since the months supply of inventory is only one month! This is a sellers market for Poway as well!

Single family homes are really selling quickly and for more money in Ramona! Let’s take a look at some of the key metrics comparing July data in Ramona for 2019 vs 2020.

2019 -> 2020 Numbers Respectively:

• New Listings: 64 -> 54
• Pending Sales: 48 -> 49
• Closed Sales: 52 -> 58
• Median Sales Price $545,000 -> $589,000
• Percent of Original List Price Received: 97.9% -> 99.7%
• Days on Market Until Sale 32 -> 32
• Inventory of Homes for Sale 133 -> 51
• Months Supply of Inventory 3.2 -> 1.3

New listings dropped 15.6% and closed sales increased 11.5%. Inventory of homes for sale dropped 62% which is causing a surge in demand with little supply. With the favorable current interest rates and far less homes on the market results in a surge of purchase price -> 8.1% year over year increase. This is a sellers market for Ramona!