Fast Facts From the Callifornia Association Od Realtors

Calif. median home price - May 09: $267,570 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region May 09: Santa Barbara So. Coast
$875,000 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region May 09: High Desert $106,210 (Source: C.A.R.)Calif.
First-time Buyer Affordability Index - First Quarter 2009: 69 percent (Source: C.A.R.)Mortgage rates - week ending 7/16/09
30-yr. fixed: 5.14% Fees/points: 0.7%
15-yr. fixed: 4.63% Fees/points: 0.7%
1-yr. adjustable: 4.76% Fees/points: 0.5% (Source: Freddie Mac)

First-Time Homebuyers Push Sales Up In Studio City and Sherman Oaks

Southland Regional Association of Realtors® reported that first-time buyers are taking advantage of favorable market conditions and are pushing home sales up in the San Fernando Valley with May being the eleventh straight month of sales gains.
Seven hundred and eight single-family homes sold during May, an increase of 5.8 percent over a year ago and 2.5 percent above figures.
Currently there is a 3.8-month supply of homes compared to the 8.5-month supply of May 2008 (a five- to six-month inventory indicates a balanced market.)
The median price of homes sold during May was $350,000, down 22.2 percent from a year ago. The condominium median price of $185,000 was off 38.1 percent from May 2008.

Thought For The Day

"Look for sale prices, and never regard falling prices as inherently bad news. Instead, falling prices create the opportunity to buy even more of something that was already worth owning. " Warren Buffet