State of the nation

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Looking at the national economy, the Fed is ramping up to another 25 bps rate hike at their May meeting, but the job market isn’t feeling the recession burn. Unemployment sits at 3.5%, private payroll is on the rise, and 236K jobs were added in the past month. Meanwhile, interest rates remain unpredictable day to day.

California Dreaming

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The Dream For All Shared Appreciation Loan is a down payment assistance program for first-time homebuyers from the California Housing Finance Agency (CALHFA). When you sell or transfer, you repay the original down payment, plus a share of the appreciation in the value of the home. So how can you find your California dream?

CHIC (Pearl)

In order to qualify for the Dream For All program, you need to be a first-time homebuyer, which is defined as someone who has not owned and occupied their own home in the last three years. You also need to occupy the property as a primary residence and complete two levels of homebuyer education. Oh, and your household income can’t exceed $300K.

GEEK (Kevin)

State legislators allocated $300M to this program in the form of 30-year fixed-rate loans starting at 6% with a 1.45% fee. Unfortunately, while we were writing this blog, CALHFA announced that all of the program funds have been claimed as of April 7. Hopefully, additional funding will be allocated in the next state budget. In the meantime, get educated and get ready.

Happy Easter! (Let's Eat!)

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We hope you enjoy hunting for eggs and eating way too many peeps and chocolate bunnies!

Whether you’re on the hunt for upscale faire after gorging on candy or you need a dose of old-fashioned comfort food, The Six Fifty has you covered for the best Easter brunch spots in our backyard.

Where are you spending your Sunday?

When the Fed speaks, markets listen.

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ICYMI: In an ongoing quest to fight inflation, the Federal Reserve recently raised its benchmark rate by 0.25 points to 4.75%-5%. So what does that mean for the housing market? The primary impact is reduced demand as buyers think twice about taking out long-term loans. Ironically, less demand could lead to lower home prices.

The Skimm explores this conundrum.