Manhattan Beach Real Estate-Redondo Beach Townhomes: Manhattan Beach: Market Snapshot December 4, 2008

Manhattan Beach... storm clouds

The good news is that mortgage rates dropped last week and are at levels not seen since last January. The bad news is not many people are ready to take advantage of the lower rates. The best description I've head is ... the current economic problems are like going to the best restaurant in town and everything is free but you aren't hungry.

Manhattan Beach home sales in November 2008 were at an all time low... 11 homes and 0 townhomes closed escrow last month. So far this month is not much better with 3 closed home sales and no closed townhome sales. I expect those numbers will improve slightly as there are a number of pending sales that will close by the end of the year. You can expect to see more price cuts as sellers who need to sell realize the market has changed.

In reviewing last month's sales I did note some interesting things. 3 of the sales were all cash.. including the two most expensive homes. One looks as if it may have sold to a builder. The majority of the homes that closed escrow had over 30% down. Bank of America funded the most loans including loans over $1M. Union Bank and Chase also were making loans over $1M. Wells Fargo and Countrywide rounded out the list. High end loans had downpayments of 50% or more.

Manhattan Beach: Market Snapshot December 4, 2008(click on graph to enlarge)

Manhattan Beach: Price Ranges December 4, 2008

Manhattan Beach: Market Snapshot November 8, 2008

Manhattan Beach: Market Snapshot October 13, 2008

Manhattan Beach: Market Snapshot September 15, 2008

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: Thanks for these posts. Do you have information on the interest rates of the recent loans? I am interested what people actually are able to get on $1M loans with 30%+ down. Thanks!; 12/9/08, 8:06 PM
Kaye said...: Anonymous 8:06,
I'm glad you find the posts of interest...

Rates are all over the place depending on the type of loan. I've seen 30 yr fixed rates anywhere from 7.6%-8.5% depending on the lender.

I'm guessing that a majority of folks are doing 7-10 year adjustable loans and those rates are also very dependent on the lender. Some banks are giving preferred rates if you have an account with them. I've seen rates quoted from 6.25%-6.85% for adjustable loans depending on the term... the shorter the term the better the rate.; 12/9/08, 8:19 PM