Jodi Summers = Santa Monica Real Estate

SANTA MONICA ~ VENICE REAL ESTATE SNAPSHOT ~ MAY 2013 ~ ALL GOOD NEWS!

April 29, 2013 on 8:42 pm | In Buyers, Fascinating Information, Market Snapshot, Market Trends, Of Local Importance, Sellers, Statistics, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

by Jodi Summers

All the residential real estate news this month is about recovery. The optimism spreads across business sectors and is sprawled across all kinds of specialized news mediums. Check out the headlines and the highlights…

Median Home Prices in SoCal Continue Upward Climb – DQ Real Estate News and Information Services

The median price paid for a Southern California home hit a 56-month high in March, rising 23.4% from a year earlier as the impact of foreclosures continued to fade and sales of mid- to high-end homes shot up. Total sales were the highest in six years for a March. In Los Angeles County, the median price increased by 24.2% over the year in March to $380,000. (FYI, for Santa Monica + Venice residences the median sale price was $1,350,000.)

Home-Seller Confidence Doubles in the Second Quarter – Redfin Blog

Responses to Redfin’s Real-Time Seller Survey indicated a dramatic shift in the confidence of home sellers in the second quarter—45% of sellers believe now is a good time to sell, up from just 22% in the first quarter and 15% in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, 44% of sellers believe now is a good time to buy. Nearly a third of sellers have no major concerns about selling, up from just 19% in the first quarter.

Survey Finds Appraisers Finding Hope in Rebounding Housing Market – National Mortgage Professional

A recently completed survey conducted by United States Appraisals found appraisers mildly encouraged by the current housing market. When asked, “What is your current level of confidence in the housing market,” 54.7% of respondents answered mildly or moderately strong, while 24.9% were neutral. The survey was completed by United States Appraisals’ nationwide panel of residential appraisers. United States Appraisals plans to conduct this survey quarterly to monitor trends and opin

“Appraisers tend to be realistic, focused on their local markets and unmoved by news stories and national numbers,” said Aaron Fowler, president of United States Appraisals. “We believe they provide a good gauge of the status of the housing market. After the last few years, a mildly strong level of confidence shows some definite improvement in appraiser attitudes.”

Fannie Economists Project 1.8M Borrowers Could Regain Equity in 2013 - Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research

The broadening housing recovery has firmed up home prices around the country, with the potential to restore many underwater mortgages to a position of positive equity, according to Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research group.

Citing data from CoreLogic, Orawin Velz, Fannie Mae’s director of economic and strategic research, notes that 1.7 million properties moved from negative to positive equity last year. Provided the home price gains seen so far this year continue, Velz anticipates another 1.8 million properties will rise out of their underwater positions by the end of 2013.

NAHB Offers Reasons for Optimism About Housing’s Full Recovery – National Association of Home Builders

The nation’s growth “is finally being driven by housing again,” proclaimed David Crowe, the National Association of Home Builders chief economist. Home prices have been rising, partly the result of tightening inventory of completed new homes, which in turn is stimulating demand. Employment—a major factor in home-buying decisions—continues to strengthen, albeit incrementally. And housing’s recovery is now national in scope.

However, that recovery has not taken full flight yet. Housing still only accounts for 3% of the total economy, or about half its historical level. Single-family home starts are at 47% of the 1.3-million-unit annual level that’s considered “normal” to meet anticipated demographic and population trends.

http://www.builderonline.com/economic-conditions/nahb-offers-reasons-for-optimism-about-housings-full-recovery.aspx?utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=jump&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BP_042613&day=2013-04-26

http://www.dsnews.com/articles/fannies-economic-team-concludes-18m-borrowers-could-regain-equity-in-2013-2013-04-24

http://www.dqnews.com/

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/?p=4903

http://laedc.org/business-assistance/additional-resources/e-edge-newsletter/#1

http://blog.redfin.com/blog/2013/04/seller-survey-q2-2013.html

http://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news36811/recent-united-states-appraisals-study-finds-appraisers-hopeful-regarding-housing-market

http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/lt/lt_cache/thumbnail/960/img/photos/2012/08/10/ae/f5/appraiser_1018_BH01_276455a.jpg

https://www.terradatum.com/cmm/CLAW;jsessionid=6ABFA655C6FA797E8E7876C639A818D8

http://www.dsnews.com/articles/fannies-economic-team-concludes-18m-borrowers-could-regain-equity-in-2013-2013-04-24

http://parr.com/images/uploads/blog/NAHB-2013-forecasts.gif

SANTA MONICA REAL ESTATE SNAPSHOT ~ APRIL 2013 ~ WE NEED MORE!

April 1, 2013 on 11:25 am | In Buyers, Market Trends, Of Local Importance, Sellers, Statistics, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

by Jodi Summers

The good news rose like a phoenix from the bleakness of winter. In February, the median sale price on existing California homes ascended 24.2% to $333,880 < marking a full year price gains. The California Association of Realtors added that sales of homes priced above $500,000 increased by nearly 31% over the year (our neck of the woods) compared with sales of homes priced below $300,000 which declined by 27% over the same period…basically homes priced below $300,000 are disappearing. Lack of inventory is creating fierce competition for available homes > elevating the median sale price.

Have you had the chance to experience the frenzied bidding wars taking place on properties north of Montana Ave.? Well-priced homes for sale in the areas of much-coveted Franklin and McKinley elementary schools and near the beach can go for $500,000 above asking price. Some of our sellers with strategically located and priced properties are getting close to two dozen offers. Big cash offers are often the winners.

Didja know, in Santa Monica, our median sold price for residential properties can vary greatly depending up if more houses or condos are sold in any given month. According to Clarus Market Metrics – In February, the median sold price was way up @ $1,040,000…more houses. In March 2013, the median sold price may be down -3% year-over-year, but down 23% for the month to $795,000 < more condos sold than houses last month.

A slow mile does not lose a marathon. If we look at a three-year picture for Santa Monica sold properties, Median Sold Price by quarter is up 20% from Q1 2011. Sellers take note – prices are beginning to approach previous highs. The median price of for sale properties is up 34% from 3 years ago. We’re about to hit the busy buying season for beach lovers and families with kids…just think of how great our sales numbers will look in June!

Looking at the region, the median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the six-county Southland was $320,000 last month, down 0.3% from $321,000 in January and up 20.9% from $264,750 in February 2012. We hit a high of $330,000 in August 2008.

“March and April will offer a better view of how broader market trends are shaping up this year. One of the real wild cards will be how many more homes go up for sale,” offers DataQuick president John Walsh. “More people who’ve long been thinking of selling will be tempted to list their homes at today’s higher prices. Fewer people will be underwater and therefore could at least break even on a sale. Some investors who’ve held for a while will consider cashing in. A meaningful rise in the supply of homes on the market should at least tame price appreciation.”

Demand for homes is strong, but the lack of inventory is having a negative impact on sales. The inventory of unsold single-family detached homes in California declined last month to a 3.6 month supply < compared with 5.4 months a year ago. Los Angeles County had a 3.3-month supply of single-family homes in February, down from 5.7 months during the same period of 2012. Homes are also selling fast, with the median time on the market for single-family home in California was 34.2 days in February < versus 57.4 days a year ago.

Sellers, where are you? Demand is exceeding supply in Santa Monica with less than 1.5 months of inventory on the market in Santa Monica < an inventory drop of -63% from March 2012.

A bigger perspective. Here is a year-over-year summary of sales and price activity in Southern California by county:

Los Angeles County: unit sales declined by 5.2% over the year to February, but the median price shot up by 23.8% to $337,630.
Orange County: sales edged up by 1.0% last month, while the median price soared by 25.1% to $607,230.
Riverside County: sales of existing homes contracted by 12.0%, but the median price increased by 22.5% to $245,830.
San Bernardino County: sales declined by 12.7%, while the median price rose by 18.0% to $156,360.
San Diego County: unit sales ticked up by 0.5% and the median price increased by 12.3% to $407,220.
Ventura County: existing home sales were up by 2.4% and the median price rose by 17.7% to $461,960.

We’re here to help you with your real estate needs. Please contact Jodi Summers and the SoCal Investment Real Estate Group @ Sotheby’s International Realty – jodi@jodisummers.com or 310.392.1211, and let us move forward together.

http://www.car.org/newsstand/newsreleases/2013releases/febsales

https://www.terradatum.com/cmm/CLAW;jsessionid=072C8FA3CE76056976C72596933C34D7

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/?p=4858

http://laedc.org/business-assistance/additional-resources/e-edge-newsletter/#2

http://www.dqnews.com/Articles/2013/News/California/Southern-CA/RRSCA130313.aspx

SANTA MONICA REAL ESTATE SNAPHOT ~ MARCH 2013 ~ CHECK OUT THESE STATISTICS

February 27, 2013 on 9:29 pm | In Buyers, Market Snapshot, Market Trends, Of Local Importance, Sellers, Statistics, Uncategorized | No Comments

by Jodi Summers

2013 was the best January for Southern California home sales in six years. Fabulously low interest rates have generated a growing pool of buyers chasing a shrinking supply of homes. Buyers are highly motivated. Prices are skyrocketing. Just look at these incredible Santa Monica home price statistics when you compare January 2011 to January 2013:

· The median price of sold price is up 66%.
· The median price of for sale properties is up 33%.
· The number of For Sale properties is down -46%.
· The number of New properties is down -12%.
· The average days on market is down -21%.
· The average months supply of inventory is down -64%.
· The number of Sold properties is down -24%.

“Buyer traffic is 40 percent above a year ago, so there is plenty of demand but insufficient inventory to improve sales more strongly,” observes NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “We’ve transitioned into a seller’s market in much of the country.”

Throughout Los Angeles, investors and cash buyers are hovering at near record levels…and the move-up market is posting sizable gains as well. In January, sales of homes priced between $300,000 and $800,000 (a range that includes move-up buyers), increased by 49.6% over the year. Sales of homes priced over $500,000 jumped by 74% year-over-year, while sales of homes priced over $800,000 were up by 84.2% compared with January 2012.

https://www.terradatum.com/cmm/claw

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/20/us-usa-economy-idUSBRE91J0OW20130220

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/?p=4811

http://www.inman.com/news/2013/02/21/january-existing-home-sales-slightly-tight-inventory

http://www.dqnews.com/Articles/2013/News/California/Southern-CA/RRSCA130213.aspx

http://www.dqnews.com/Charts/Annual-Charts/LA-Times-Charts/ZIPLAT12.aspx

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2013/02/21/housing-its-becoming-a-sellers-market/?mod=WSJ_3Up_RealEstate

http://laedc.org/eedge/archive/2013/ee021913.html#1

SANTA MONICA + VENICE REAL ESTATE SNAPSHOT ~ FEBRUARY 2013 > EVERYTHING IS SELLING

January 31, 2013 on 11:50 am | In Buyers, Lenders + Vendors, Market Snapshot, Market Trends, Of Local Importance, Sellers, Statistics, Uncategorized | No Comments

by Jodi Summers

Watch real estate prices rise in 2013. All the indicators imply that this will be a wealth-building year for owners of residential real estate. ★The economy is officially in recovery. ★ Housing inventories are way down. ★ Mortgage rates are at historic lows. ★ And everyone who had been waiting for the bottom of the market is now panicking to get a deal before it’s too late.

2012 set the pace for big growth. In Los Angeles County, the median sold price is up 27% from 2011. DQ News notes that the median price paid for a home in California in December was up 21.5% from the previous year. CoreLogic predicts that U.S. home prices would end the year up 7.9%. Ironically, at the beach, we didn’t keep pace with the rest of the country. For single family homes in Santa Monica and Venice, comparing December 2011 to December 2012, the median sold price is up 7%.

What this all translates to is that the average price for a home in California in December 2012 was $299,000. The median price for a home in L.A. County was $738,000. The median price of a home Santa Monica and Venice in December was $1,610,000. Life is precious at the beach.

Money and availability are two of the prime causes for the recent price hikes.

Let’s talk money…the Fed’s Quantitative Easing program, dubbed QE, is reducing mortgage rates to what Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke calls a “credibly low” level. The Fed has vowed to buy up mortgage-backed securities at $40 billion per month to keep interest rates low until the job market improves. That bodes well for qualified buyers.

“Taken together, these actions should maintain downward pressure on longer-term interest rates, support mortgage markets, and help to make broader financial conditions more accommodative,” observes to a Federal Open Market Committee report.

With low mortgage rates, buyers are getting a lot for their money.

Now let’s talk availability – inventories have declined drastically. The fine value in real estate has been impressing investors, who are jumping into the market and making all-cash purchases. They then turn these properties in to rental properties, with plans to sell as the market strengthens or to merely buy and hold.

The low inventory has left homebuyers submitting multiple bids and upbidding each other, pushing up prices – in some cases by more than $100,000 – and putting a damper on the idea of finding a deal on their dream property.

In Venice and Santa Monica, virtually all reasonably priced properties have gone pending in less than two weeks….not to mention the fact that the number of properties on the market has dropped 52% between 12-11 and 12-12.

The number of homes listed for sale at the end of 2012 stood at the lowest level in more than five year. Nationally, there were1.57 million homes listed for sale at the end of 2012, down 17.3% from one year ago, according to data tracked by Realtor.com.

Inventories were down in all of the nation’s 30 largest housing markets, compared for 2012. Sacramento led the pack with an amazing 68% decline in housing. Seattle fell 45%; San Francisco – 43%; Los Angeles – 40%; Orange County, CA and Atlanta declined 39%; and San Diego 38%.

Inventories typically decline in December, January and February as home-shopping activity cools. But in 2012, inventories never grew.

“Sellers have been reluctant to put their homes on the market,” offers Steve Berkowitz, chief executive of Move Inc., which operates Realtor.com. January and February, he notes, “are going to be an interesting time to watch” because they’ll provide early clues about buyer traffic and sellers’ expectations. Already, online search demand is up from one year ago.”

Now let’s talk about investors and their impact on the real estate marketplace.

Investor buying of single family homes as rental properties increased significantly several years ago. More recently, the entrance of and/or increased activity by “big-money” institutional investors resulted in a substantial increase in investor buying. You’ve seen it if you’ve been trying to buy in the north of Montana neighborhood of Santa Monica or on the chic streets of Venice. Many of the desirable properties are being bid up by investors going well over asking price.

If you’re in search of a deal, you need to be lucky and aggressive. Investors bought 42% of all homes sold at foreclosure auctions statewide last quarter, according to DataQuick. Not to mention that California’s foreclosure crisis eased considerably during the final quarter of last year, with the number of homes entering foreclosure dropping to a six-year low.

California has also been able to work through its foreclosure problem faster than other states, in part because foreclosures take place largely outside the courtroom, shares Celia Chen, a housing economist with Moody’s Economy.com. California has not been bogged down with the same level of paperwork issues and delays that states such as Florida or New York have experienced.

“Ultimately, fewer foreclosures means an even tighter market, which means a more rapid recovery,” concludes Christopher Thornberg, a principal at Beacon Economics. “I see very little to forestall the real estate market this year.”

The steep decline, accompanied by a similar drop in home repossessions, has cleared the path for a quickened pace of recovery of home prices. Good loans and reduced inventory suggest that housing should increase again in 2013.

We’re here to help you with your real estate property needs. Please contact Jodi Summers and the SoCal Investment Real Estate Group @ Sotheby’s International Realty – jodi@jodisummers.com or 310.392.1211, and let us move forward together.

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/01/15/bernanke-qe-keeping-mortgage-rates-low

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/?p=4785

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-foreclosure-report-20130124,0,5428131.story

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2013/01/16/housing-inventory-ends-year-down-17/

https://www.terradatum.com/cmm/claw

http://forums.redfin.com/t5/Bay-Area/Inventory-shortage-maybe-not/td-p/370082

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/nov/11/tp-inventory-shortage-hinders-homebuyers/

http://www.voa.org/About-Us/Why-We-Do-What-We-Do

http://www.samuelscottfg.com/shrinking-inventories-in-california-lead-decline-in-home-sales

http://www.scpr.org/programs/madeleine-brand/2011/12/06/21649/cheap-las-vegas-homes-attract-foreign-investors/

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-to-buy-investment-real-estate

SANTA MONICA + VENICE REAL ESTATE SNAPSHOT ~ JANUARY 2013 ~ IT’S ALL ABOUT HOUSING

January 1, 2013 on 5:13 pm | In Fascinating Information, Market Snapshot, Market Trends, Of Local Importance, Sellers, Statistics, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

by Jodi Summers

2013 is going to be a good year. It’s going to be a good year for housing, among other things. Now all of us @ the beach realize that our market has long been back on track, thanks to low housing inventory and low interest rates. Kudos go out to the Federal Reserve’s aggressive bond-buying program, which has pushed mortgage interest rates down to unprecedented lows.

As our economy corrects itself, it’s all about housing. By many accounts, the housing-market “bottom” was one of the biggest business stories of 2012, and a key to our economic turnaround. After years of falling home values, the data clearly showed that the bleeding stopped somewhere in the first part of 2012 and has been slowly rising during the latter part of the year. The most recent Case-Shiller home-price index report shows a fifth consecutive month of year-over-year increases in home prices nationwide.

For single family homes in Santa Monica and Venice the bottom was May 2012, according to Clarus Market Metrics. Prices were at a median low of $1,180,000 < rising to $1,575,000 by the end of the year.

The statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home in November was $349,300. The California Association of Realtors® calculates that the median price was up 24.8% from November 2011 – the largest year-to-year percentage increase since June 2004.

“Coastal markets, which tend to have high-end properties, accounted for a larger share of total sales and led to strong price gains overall,” shares C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. “The significant increase in price was due in part to the change in the mix of sales.”

In Santa Monica and Venice, sold homes are up 18% from December 2011.

Thank you Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for fostering historically low interest rates. Mortgage bonds issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae still fund more than 90% of new home loans. Bank portfolios and other private lending make up the rest.

Analysis done by Iacono Research on the significance of the Federal stimulus efforts showed that today’s incredible low interest rates allow a home buyer to purchase a house that is 50% more expensive than they would have been able to afford under the average mortgage rates over the past 20 years.

Nationally, low mortgage rates and job gains are pushed sales of existing homes to the highest level in three years. New housing construction up 21.6% in November from a year earlier.

CoreLogic reports that U.S. home prices nationwide increased on a year-over-year basis by 6.3% in October, the biggest increase since June 2006. Investors who bought subprime mortgage bonds, saw posted returns of more than 40% since December 2011.

With no inventory on the market, and prices on the rise, now is a peak time to sell your property. Builders all but halted construction in 2007 and 2008. In 2010, mortgage delinquencies peaked; from there forward foreclosures were in decline. By 2011, rental demand rallied, and savvy investors bought in neighborhoods where homes could be easily rented out. Strong investor demand and fewer bank foreclosures have contributed to inventory drops, while many homeowners are unwilling or unable to sell.

Looking forward, there are more than 500 new units for rent and for sale scheduled to come online in Santa Monica in the coming years, and there are many more requests before City Hall. Builders and city officials are benefitting in a big way.

The Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reports that across the country, private housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 861,000, compared to the November 2011 rate of 708,000. Home-building completions were up 16% from a year earlier.

Finally the housing market is seeing the start of what economists call a positive feedback loop. Rising home prices allow lenders to be more generous with home financing, which allows even more prospective home buyers to access the market, further driving up home prices. Higher home values give consumers and builders more confidence to go out and spend money or make investments, which also stimulates the real estate market and the national economy.

We’re here to help you with your commercial and investment property needs. Please contact Jodi Summers and the SoCal Investment Real Estate Group @ Sotheby’s International Realty – jodi@jodisummers.com or 310.392.1211, and let us move forward together.

http://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/California-home-prices-rise-25-percent-4129561.php

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2012/12/19/2013-the-year-home-inventory-hits-a-bottom/

http://graphics.wsj.com/tracking-real-estate-inventory-and-prices/nov-12/#SugCategories=rPrices

http://business.time.com/2012/12/27/housing-numbers-recovery-fed/

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/12/14/home-prices-could-jump-9-7-in-2013-j-p-morgan-says/

http://avoiceinamerica.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/fannie-mae.gif

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/?p=4763

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http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-home-sales-20121220,0,1324573.story?track=rss

http://www.uli.org/press-release/u-s-commercial-real-estate-recovery-to-advance-in-2013-with-nationwide-gains-in-leasing-rents-pricing-according-to-pwc-us-and-urban-land-institutes-emerging-trends-in-real-estate-forecast/

http://abcitsme.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/happy-new-year-2013-setsiri-silapasuwanchai.jpg?w=900

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2012/12/housing-starts-at-861-thousand-saar-in.html

https://www.terradatum.com/cmm/claw

http://dnsfoliot.com/_images/_company/_manufacture/foliot-manufacture-6.jpg

SANTA MONICA + VENICE REAL ESTATE SNAPSHOT ~ DECEMBER 2012 ~ HAPPY! MERRY! HAPPY! HAPPY! HAPPY!

November 30, 2012 on 7:42 pm | In Buyers, Fascinating Information, Market Snapshot, Market Trends, Of Local Importance, Sellers, Statistics, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

by Jodi Summers

The United States housing market is officially in recovery. Prices for single-family homes rose in 81% of U.S. cities as the property market extends a recovery from the worst crash since the 1930s. The National Association of Realtors states that in the third quarter, the year-over-year median sales price increased in 120 of 149 metropolitan areas.

Nationally, Q3 home prices show the strongest growth since 2006. Locally, in Santa Monica and Venice, according to Clarus Market Metrics, homes are selling in an average of 45 days > compared with 85 days in October 2011. The median sold price is up an eye-popping 31%. Asking prices are up 18%

Of course, our life at the beach is far beyond average > The national median existing single-family home price jumped 7.6% from a year ago, to $186,100. For the country as a whole, this is the strongest year-over-year increase for any quarter since 1Q 2006, when prices were up 9.4% from the previous year. Sales of existing homes rose 10.3% during the third quarter, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million, up from 4.25 million a year ago.

Year-over-year In Venice + Santa Monica the median sold price for single family homes is up 26% to $1,650,000, while condos are up is up 23% to $765,000. The number of sold home sales at the beach are up 65%, while condo volume is up 38%.

Nationally, Inventory of existing homes for sale was down 20% from a year ago, to 2.32 million. In Santa Monica and Venice, inventory is down 68% to a 2-month supply.

Nationally, there is optimism, something we haven’t seen a lot of since the Clinton administration. A survey by Fannie Mae, the nation’s biggest mortgage- finance company, reveals that Americans expect home prices to increase an average of 1.7% in the next 12 months. The share of respondents who expect home prices to decrease dropped to 10%, down 13 percentage points from a year earlier < AND the lowest level since the monthly survey began in June 2010!!

“The housing recovery still faces a number of potential headwinds,” observes Paul Diggle, property economist for Capital Economics Ltd. “But our central case is that tight supply conditions will mean that house prices will continue to rise steadily next year.”

Investors, who make up the bulk of cash purchasers, accounted for 17% of all transactions, down from 20% a year earlier.

The combination of rising prices and tight inventory on a quarterly basis indicate that the housing recovery is settling in, said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, in a statement.

“We expect fairly normal appreciation patterns in 2013, but there is a risk of price acceleration if builders are unable to meet the needs of our growing population and household formation,” Yun said.

National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun foresees U.S. home prices rising by 15% over the next three years, a boost for to please the entire country.

Mortgage rates will remain at historic lows through 2014, keeping home buying affordable, shares Mark Vitner, an economist with Wells Fargo. He forecast that the rate on a traditional, 30-year mortgage, now at roughly 3.4%, will “bottom out” at 3.3% in next year’s first quarter amid concerns about federal budget-balancing efforts. “We will probably be at an all-time-low in interest rates late this year or early next year.”