San Ramon – Dublin – Pleasanton – Danville, CA

The Associated Press reports – The worst of the housing slump might be over, although some pain is likely to linger, an adviser to President Bush suggested Tuesday. In terms of the crumbling housing market, "most of the action has already played out," Edward Lazear, chairman of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers, told reporters.

Rex Nutting from Market Watch gives us the recent national stats:

• Construction on new homes rebounded in November, rising 6.7% after a whopping 14% drop in October, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Starts fell 8.1% in the West to the lowest level in five years.
• Building permits, considered a leading indicator of the economy and of the housing market, fell 3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.506 million, the 10th straight decline in permits, from October's 1.553 million pace.
• Building permits are down 31.3% in the past year and are down 14.1% in the first 11 months of 2006 compared with the same period in 2005.

When asked to rate the importance of factors that might affect their decision to purchase a specific home, 80 percent said price was the most significant factor. Other considerations included:

• Potential for the new home to appreciate in value, 71 percent
• The prospect of selling their current home at a fair price, 70 percent
• The level of mortgage interest rates, 69 percent
• Personal life changes 60 percent

From Inman News

Doug Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association, expects the 30-year mortgage rate to hover around 6.5 percent for the remainder of the year, but climb to 6.8 percent by the end of 2008. Duncan is "optimistic about a rebound" in the housing market next year, citing still-low long-term interest rates, robust capital expenditures, and rising equity prices, among other factors.

Meanwhile, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® expects existing-home sales to slip to just above 6.4 million in 2007 from an estimated 6.47 million this year. But a pullback in construction will spark an 8.7-percent decline in new-home sales to 975,000 from 1.07 million over the same time span.

The President has signed into law a bill making mortgage insurance premiums tax-deductible.

• Mortgage insurance premiums will be 100% deductible for households whose adjusted gross income is $100,000 or less.
• The law is effective for the 2007 tax year on purchase and refinance loans closed on or after Jan. 1, 2007.

Every week we update the local real estate market stats for the communities of San Ramon, Dublin and Pleasanton, CA.

The Harper Team monitors over 50 Real Estate and News Feeds daily to bring you information pertinent to the San Ramon Valley & TriValley real estate market including the communities of Danville, San Ramon, Dublin and Pleasanton. We welcome suggestions.

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