30 years of summer, followed by 30 years of winter
Mortgage rates are on their way up.
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Category: Finance
Buyer Purchasing Power Index flattens in Q3 2025
The California Buyer Purchasing Power Index (BPPI) tells us a homebuyer with the same income is able to borrow 1.47% less purchase-assist mortgage money than a year ago.
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Trending mortgage rates
Where are mortgage rates now? Check out our weekly interest rate update to track the latest market rates.
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Annual assessment increase for DFPI mortgage licensees
Declining DFPI licensee numbers, and the fees they charge, means the remaining individuals need to pick up the slack — with their wallets.
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Jobs move real estate
Track the single most influential factor on California’s real estate market: the number of people employed.
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FARM: Student debt and homebuyers
Use this firsttuesday FARM Letter in your marketing. To request a FARM letter topic, or to see a...
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Using the yield spread to forecast recession and recovery conditions
The yield spread indicates the likelihood of a recession or recovery one year forward.
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Orange County housing indicators
View these Orange County regional charts for details on current activity and forecasts for its local housing market.
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Buy an historic home, get a Mills Act subsidy
An owner or buyer of historic property in need of TLC can reduce their property tax by entering into a restoration and property tax agreement, called a Mills Act subsidy.
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The force behind home price movement: buyer purchasing power
Find out what today’s buyer purchasing power means for tomorrow’s home prices in California.
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What buyer- and tenant-clients need to know about credit reports
This article offers a bird’s eye view on credit report fundamentals across real estate sales and rentals.
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The Federal Reserve’s impact on mortgage rates
Learn how the Fed is using their benchmark rate as a monetary policy tool
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Buyer Purchasing Power Index (BPPI) hints at rising as home price adjustment sets in
Planning for the next several years in real estate transactions will require patience and a very different approach to the past decade of recovery economics driven by rate decreases.
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Nationally MLOs are far fewer in 2024; CA DRE MLOs increase, DFPI MLOs decrease
The trend for state-licensed MLOs is down in 2024.
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MIP, PMI or neither?
Which is better for first-time homebuyers reliant on mortgage insurance: MIP or PMI?
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Income tax updates for 2025, with whiplash from 2018-era tax changes
Real estate agents negotiating a transaction advise clients on tax consequences
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Does a homeowner receive a refund for taxes paid when their property value is too high due to an incorrect assessment?
Greenspan v. County of Los Angeles Facts: A property owner demolishes the improvements on the...
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Interest rates 101
This article dives into how interest rates are structured, how lenders set the interest rate on a mortgage, and how rates affect property values.
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Form-of-the-Week: Purchase Agreement for Note and Trust Deed, and Agreement to Hypothecate — Forms 241 and 242
A trust deed loan broker uses these forms when arranging the purchase by a trust deed investor of an existing trust deed note held out for sale to prepare an offer stating the price and conditions for purchase of the trust deed note, and when arranging a loan made by a trust deed investor collateralized by an existing trust deed note held by the borrower to prepare an offer by the investor for the borrower’s acceptance stating the terms and conditions for making the collateralized loan.
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Predatory mortgages, discouraged by TILA section 32
Learn what a Section 32 loan is, and why MLOs try to avoid originating these types of loans.
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