New Housing Legislation in California | 1-Minute Market Update w/ Martin

Interest rates are climbing, and the housing market is feeling the heat. But is it a full-blown meltdown, or just a temporary blip?

This week, we dive deep into the latest mortgage data and explore the factors driving these changes. From rising interest rates to a surge in new listings, we'll unpack it all. 

And don't miss our heated debate on a controversial California bill that could shake up the housing market forever.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Undocumented immigrants in California might be one step closer to homeownership, and here's how. But before that, let's take a look at this week's housing market data. Today is August 30th 2024, and this is your weekly real estate market update. First up, fewer people are applying for mortgages to buy homes. Mortgage applications have only gone up by 1% compared to last week, but we're still seeing a 9 1% compared to last week, but we're still seeing a 9% drop compared to last year. Interestingly, more people are Googling homes for sale up by 10% from last month, but compared to last year, searches are actually down 3%. Now let's talk about prices. The typical price tag for a house right now is a hefty $389,975. And if we look at the average price that sellers are asking, it's around $395,500.

Speaker 1: 0:55

If you're thinking of buying, be prepared for a big mortgage bill. The average monthly payment is now $2,568, all thanks to interest rates sitting at 6.46%, which is actually not bad. That's come down from the highs of close to 8% earlier in the year. The good news is, if you're house hunting, there are more homes on the market. New listings are up by 3% compared to last year and the overall number of homes you can actually buy has jumped by almost 16.7%. Here's the catch Houses are taking a bit longer to sell. The average home is sitting on the market for 35 days, which is six days longer than last year. This is not bad. 35 days is not horrible average. Again, it's market to market dependent, so you have to pay attention to what's happening in your market. Real estate is very pocket and market dependent, so see what's happening in your market. Now, these interest rates. As I've mentioned in some of my previous market watch, is that the interest rates coming down and prices still being so high is still creating friction in the marketplace, as affordability is still a problem. The biggest thing that we need to be watching out for, guys, is unemployment. If unemployment goes up crazy, everything blows up. That's what we really have to be paying attention to. If people don't have jobs and they don't have money to pay their bills, it doesn't matter if Jay Powell and his crew drive interest rates down to zero.

Speaker 1: 2:30

So recently, a new bill could shake up who gets housing help in California. This is nuts, guys. So there's a proposed bill that could extend date assistance for first-time homebuyers to undocumented immigrants. I'm going to repeat that again Undocumented immigrants who meet all other eligibility criteria. This bill has already made its way through the state legislature and is just waiting on the governor's signature. Supporters are saying it's a crucial step in tackling the housing crisis and providing opportunities for hard, hardworking people, no matter their immigration status. Okay, fair on the hardworking people, regardless of their immigration status, hardworking people are hardworking people. I take that. Receive that. Accept that.

Speaker 1: 3:16

However, if you're an illegal immigrant, how are we putting those people ahead of the legal immigrants? Let's just stay in the immigrant side here. This is wild. This thing is wild here, but not everyone is on board. Republican lawmakers are pushing back, arguing that California should focus on helping legal residents first when it comes to housing assistance. Totally agree here. They believe that, with limited resources, citizens and legal residents take priority. Common sense, guys. That's common sense to me.

Speaker 1: 3:47

What do you think about this? Let me know your thoughts. You the listener, you the watcher. Let me know in the comments. Tell me what you think.

Speaker 1: 3:54

As you guys know, I'm center right, I'm center left, depending on the topic, depending on the situation I lean, depending on the policy. I can lean on one way or the situation I lean. Depending on the policy, I can lean on one way or the other, I'm more center-right. However, on this topic here, yikes man. This is insane that California plans on putting illegal immigrants ahead of their legal immigrants. Let's just start there, right. The people that went through the process and did things the right way versus those that did not Hardworking or not, I mean legal immigrants and citizens should be priority. Just my opinion, dude. I'm just a guy on YouTube or on a podcast. I'm just a guy. This is how I would run my house and this is how I would run a community or a state. If I was a governor, I would put my people first, like the people that take care of home base first before I take care of anything else. So there you have it. It's a quick snapshot of this week's real estate market update. I'll see you guys next week. Bye.