Initial Jobless Claims came in lower than last week, but they are still high. Fed Beige Book didn't really paint a rosy picture of the economy, with some regions worsening. The 5 Year Auction went well. Based on the Jobless Claims, they're not really expecting a great turn out for the 7 Year Auction today. The Stock Market is down and the Bond Market is Up. As a result, we're seeing an improvement with the Mortgage Rates today. Tomorrow will bring some big news with the GDP, Chicago PMI, Consumer Sentiment and Employment Cost Index being reported. 07/29/2010

Light Trading so far this morning, which most Traders seem to be waiting to get a glimpse of the Fed's Beige Book being released at 11am PST today. Meanwhile, the Durable Goods Orders dropped again. Stock Market is down a little bit and the Bond Market is Up a little bit -still sitting in a sideways pattern. Mortgage Rates will be a little better today, as the Market started about 6 bps higher than yesterday's close and is up another 6bps for the morning. One concern for the Bond Market today is Supply Concern's with the 5 Year Auction going on today. 07/28/2010

There are 179 homes on the market in South Redondo Beach, out of which 76 are single family homes, 55 townhomes and 48 condos.  Highest priced home is listed at $3,900,000 and lowest at $285,000.  56 homes are under contract - 9 single family, 5 townhomes and 5 condos. 12 properties are foreclosures - here is the list of South Redondo Beach foreclosures: South Redondo Beach Foreclosures Please call your local Redondo Beach Realtor - Krystyna Baty at (310)918-5027 if you're buying or selling your Redondo Beach real estate.  I'll be glad to help! Visit www.RedondoBeachRealEstateOnline.com for more information on the Redondo Beach real estate homes for sale!  07/28/2010

Light Trading Day today, as Many Traders were digesting the information from the Consumer Confidence and Corporate Earnings. The Consumer Confidence for June was Revised Upward, but the July reading was a Sharp Downward Drop. This news re-started more discussion of a possible Double-dip Recession, as the Consumers Perception of the Economy can Become Reality. This is the Concern now. Meanwhile, the Bond Market started lower today, but finished higher (completing the day at about the same level as yesterday). We're reaching a point where we'll probably see some sort of movement (either downward or upward) very soon. Mortgage Rates remained the same as yesterday. 07/27/2010

Stock Market is up today based on better than expect New Home Sales (numbers are still low, but better than previous and higher than estimates) and Fed Ex's revised earnings estimates, as it sees its international shipping picking up. Bond Market is down as a result, so Interest Rates are Up a bit this morning. 07/26/2010

Light Trading Day today, as there are no official releases scheduled today. Stock Market is Mixed with not much swings; and the Bond Market started lower, but has since gained the losses back. It potentially be a good day for Bonds, depending on the spin that they use on announcing the European Banks Stress Tests. Currently, there doesn't seem to be much faith, as many feel the Stress Tests may not have been that stressful (pardon, the pun). Mortgage Rates, at the moment, seem to be moving in a side-ways motion. 07/23/2010

Light Trading Day today, as there are no official releases scheduled today. Stock Market is Mixed with not much swings; and the Bond Market started lower, but has since gained the losses back. It potentially be a good day for Bonds, depending on the spin that they use on announcing the European Banks Stress Tests. Currently, there doesn't seem to be much faith, as many feel the Stress Tests may not have been that stressful (pardon, the pun). Mortgage Rates, at the moment, seem to be moving in a side-ways motion. 07/23/2010

Initial Jobless Claims were up this week; Economic Leading Indicators were down; Existing Home Sales were down; and on the positive side, both European earnings and industrial orders and US Corporate Earnings are showing some positive light. As a result, we're seeing Stock Market rebound from yesterday's beating (after Bernanke's testifying before Congress) and the Bond Market is trading rather lightly today, so Mortgage Rates are at the same levels as yesterday's close (after a huge Rally). 07/22/2010

      No Releases today, which is resulting a thin trading day on the Stock Market. We're seeing a bit of a seesaw action this morning. So far, some of the earnings reports are coming in favorable. Mr. Bernanke will be standing before Congress today and tomorrow. One of the questions to expect is our plan for any possibility of a double-dip recession. If pressed, then you may hear him mention that the Fed will begin buying MBS (more mortgage backed securities), which will bode well for interest rates again. So far this morning, the Bond Market is up a bit (Improved Mortgage Rates).     UPDATE: Bernanke's remarks to Congress sparks huge rally in the Bond Market (while spooking the Stock Market), so we'll see another price improvement with the Interest Rates for Home Loans.   07/21/2010

South Redondo Beach Short Sale and REO Update - July 21st 2010 With a marked increase in short sale and bank owned listings in South Redondo Beach opportunities abound.  There are currently 20 distressed homes on the market in South Redondo with 17 short sales and 3 bank owned properties.  Of the 20 homes there are 6 single family homes, 8 condominiums and 6 townhomes. In addition to the 20 homes in South Redondo there are 26 short sale and bank owned listings in North Redondo Beach. Click below for more information on individual homes. Keith Kyle is a licensed Realtor, short sale specialist and Top Producer with South Bay Brokers in Manhattan Beach.  He serves his clients throughout the South Bay and his websites KeithKyleHomes.com, ManhattanBeachLuxuryRealEstate.com and FindYourSouthB... 07/20/2010

Housing Starts was the only release today, besides Corporate Earnings Reports, which came in low. As a result, the Stock Market is down. The Bond Market started higher than yesterday's close, but is currently down for the morning. This may be an instance of Trader's reading too much into Bernanke's delayed speech for today (it was pushed back about 4 hours). You may want to keep an eye out for any further updates throughout the day, as my hunch says it will rebound for that very reason. The technicals and fundamentals support a rebound in the Bond Market today, so we should see some improvement with Mortgage Rates. Stay tuned!!!! 07/20/2010

      Stock Market took a big hit last week. Is it due for a correction? It's currently up a little bit. As the Bond Market is down a bit. The Home Builder's Index shows that the Home Builders are feeling a bit pessimistic, as it too has dropped. Meanwhile, Mortgage Rates are Up a bit this morning. Also, Ireland's Debt was Downgraded, but it's being shrugged off (US Dollar is still weakening ). Today will be mostly on the Technicals.       UPDATE: Bond Market dropped 18 bps, so there was a worsening in the Interest rates this afternoon.   07/19/2010

A lot of not so good economic news today. Earnings reports were disappointing, with some large companies (GE, Google, BofA and Citi) not meeting expectations. CPI, itself was low; but if you take out the food and energy (the Core CPI), then it's something to keep an eye on. Also, the Consumer Sentiment dramatically dropped. People are very pessimistic about the outlook of the economy. All this boils down to a big drop in the Stock Market; but the bright side is the Bond Market is Up (Improving Mortgage Rates). Have a Great Weekend!!!! 07/16/2010

A lot of Economic News today. Initial Jobless Claims dropped this week, so that is 2 weeks straight that it declined. The PPI (Producer Price Index) came in very tame. But the Manufacturing numbers came in dismally low (Philadelphia Fed Index, Empire State Index and Industrial Production). This less-than-optimistic outlook for the near future growth prospects in our economy has turned the Stock Market lower today; as a result, Bond Market is enjoying a nice upside with Mortgage Rates improving. Yesterday, we had a late Bond Rally, as a result of better than expected 30 Year Auction. Tomorrow, we'll be looking toward the CPI and Consumer Sentiment numbers. 07/15/2010

      The Stock Market is getting a bit of a boost from some of the earnings (Intel leading the way). All the while, Retail Sales show that people aren't out buying yet. The Bond Market started the morning very well, but has since pulled back a bit. So, Mortgage Rates are about the same as yesterday afternoon's pricing. Another piece of news are the drop in (Purchase) Mortgage Applications, which hit a 14 year low. Typically, the summer time is the buying season for home buyers. The 10 Year Auction went ok yesterday, but with the decent earnings reports being released thus far, they're not anticipating a very good turn out for the 30 Year. Also, Fed Member Hoenig was on CNBC today mentioning that he feels the Fed should sit on the sidelines and not lift any further easements. He's also... 07/14/2010

The Stock Market is rallying today because both the Export and Import Data were higher than expectations (even though the Trade Gap was also greater). Why are they excited about a wider Trade Gap? Good question. It's because they are feeling a bit optimistic with the greater Import data, which they feel that more consumers are spending (buying) money. Now they will be anticipating greater Earnings this week with the 2nd Quarter Reports due and Retail Sales being released tomorrow. This could potentially set up a big disappointment for the Traders. If you look at the Candlestick on the video, then you will notice a large Gap, which today's candlestick falls under the 10 day moving average. Don't be too alarmed as today represents a Bond Coupon Rollover (which translated about -34 bps). ... 07/13/2010

Volatile week ahead, starting on Wednesday. This week, Companies will be releasing their 2nd Quarter Earnings Reports. We have the Retail Sales, PPI, CPI, Philadelphia Fed and Consumer Sentiment this week. Also, we have the 3-, 10- and 30- Year Auctions (starting with the 3- year today). No releases scheduled for today, so there's relative light trading. The Stock Market is a bit Mixed, and the Bond Market improved around mid-morning (PST). So, Mortgage Rates received a boost from Friday's. 07/12/2010

Stock Market up slightly with very light trading today. Bond Market started higher this morning, but since has come down to the levels of yesterday's close. If you're dealing with an east coast lender, then most likely they had an intra-day re-pricing for the worse. If it's west coast, then the rates were the same as yesterday. The Traders are gearing up for Corporations to report their Q2 earnings (starting next week) and there are a lot of highly impactful reports to be released next week too (retail sales, PPI, CPI, Philadelphia Fed, Consumer Sentiment and the weekly Initial Jobless Claims). As I mentioned above, Mortgage Rates remained the same as yesterday's. But look for a volatile week, next week. Have a great weekend!!!! 07/09/2010

The Redondo Beach average home sale price in June 2010 went up by 2.6  percent compared to the same period a year ago, bringing the average price to $734,571. The number of sales stabilized (same number of homes were sold)  after steady increase over last few months. Redondo Beach SoldListings AverageSale Price AverageDOM June 2010 66  $734,571 77 June 2009 66  $714,988 77  All stats are compiled from the Multi Regional Multiple Listing Service. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.Sales in Redondo Beach over last few months reflect a stabilization of the South Bay real estate market as home buyers respond to increased affordability and more moderate prices.   Wondering what your Redondo Beach or South Bay home is worth in this market? Please call me at 310.918.5027 for a F... 07/08/2010

The Initial Jobless Claims are still high (the range seems to between 450k -475k). It was lower than last week's reading, however. This news, among some better than expected profits with some Retailers, provided the Stock Market with some early Gains, but since has pulled back and is a bit Mixed. The Bond Market had declined a bit more yesterday, calling for some intra-day re-pricing for the worse; and this morning is starting a bit lower too. So, Home Loan Rates will be a little lower today. If you check out the video, then you'll see it was correcting itself a bit (as it was pulling a bit too far from the 10 day moving average). This is a normal process, which you can see the Bond Market still edging higher, with more rate improvements in the future. How much, we don't know. We'll ne... 07/08/2010