I like to read stuff. Some of the stuff I read that appears in this Newsletter has nothing to do with notes or real estate. If you have wondered why I put things in here that has nothing to do with my business, it is very simple - I like it. It interests me. I hope it interests you. So, I want to share it. You will see some of that "stuff" a little later.

But, during the past few months, I have been reading a lot of articles about our current real estate market. Different people in different sectors, opining on what they see. A lot of this is alarmist - they see a 2008 all over again. They see a bubble that may be ready to burst.

Are they right? Hey, I have no idea, I barely graduated from college! I am not that smart to figure this stuff out, and what to do about it if they are. Instead, I thought I would just share some of these articles with you to give you a flavor of what the "pollsters", "experts", and "real estate insiders" are saying. You can take it from there:

S & P/Case-Shiller Index

They report that U.S. home prices climbed to new heights in April, with seven cities - Boston, Charlotte, Denver, Dallas, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle - setting record highs. Understand? Home prices have never been higher in these cities. Overall, home values are now just 9.6% below their peak of about a decade ago.

Why? Shrinking inventories, healthy job market, and historically low mortgage rates. Meanwhile, overall home ownership has dropped near a 48 year low. But, sales improve as the broader economy has slowly healed. The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate is now 5.53 million, the best pace since 2007. S & P says the foundation for much of this growth has been a solid 4.7% unemployment rate that points to a stable period for workers.

California Home Values

On May 10, 2016 Bankrate.com published the following table of median sales price of existing single family homes in these California Metropolitan areas:

Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine                  $713,700

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana     $458,900

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario       $297,900

Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville   $297,600

San Diego-Carlsbad                            $554,300

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont          $770,300

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara          $970,000

These first quarter 2016 results represented an average 7.1% home price rise. The overall median sales price is $315,900.

Question: How does this compare to your neighborhood?

Source: National Association of Realtors

Insights Blog

Oregon and Washington had huge, double digit year over year growth rates in home prices. Overall, home prices in April were 7.9% below the 2006 peak. Listen to a 37 second audio here:

www.corelogic.com/blog/default3.aspx#.V21rg7grLIU.

Construction Spending Falls

U.S. construction spending fell for a second month in May, by .08%, with weakness hitting all areas of building.

Construction spending tumbled 2% in April, the biggest monthly setback in five years. The back-to-back declines in overall construction caught analysts by surprise. They had been expecting a rebound.

Spending on housing was flat as a 1.8% advance in apartment construction was offset by a 1.3% fall in single-family activity.

Source: U.S. Commerce Department

Commercial property bubble gets out of control; Commercial real estate is now up 102 per cent from the lows reached in 2009.

"Commercial real estate values are up a stunning 102 per cent since the low hit in 2009. There is a lot of silly money rushing into the game at this point. Valuations are ridiculous and you are also seeing money from abroad, in particular from China rushing into U.S. markets."

Read this interesting article with a shocking graph here:

http://www.mybudget360.com/commercial-real-estate-bubble-cre-property-values-inflate-crane-demand/

The 4 Phases of a Real Estate Cycle - and When to Buy a Multifamily for Maximum Profitability.

Good article, read it here:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2016/06/0

9/real-estate-cycle-multifamily/.

                                  Trivia

1. Smokers often tend to be deficient in Vitamin C.

2. 95% of experimental medicines fail to prove their effectiveness as measured by the FDA.

3. Just as humans have distinctive fingerprints, dogs have nose prints - no two are the same.

4. On May 23, 1900, Sgt. William Harvey Carney is awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery on July 18, 1863, while fighting for the Union as a member of the 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry. Carney was the first black soldier to receive the Medal of Honor.

5. On May 25, 1994, the ashes of 71 year old George Swanson are buried in the driver's seat of his 1984 Corvette in Pennsylvania. Swanson had bought 12 burial plots to ensure that his beloved white Corvette would fit in his grave with him.

Source: Tidbits.com, Issue No. 22, week of May 22, 2016.

                     Trended Credit Data

Starting June 25, 20126, Fannie Mae will request all lenders to make use of trended data when dealing with single-family borrowers.

1. What you need to know about Trended Credit Data:

Trended credit data is an in-depth look at consumer's credit history. It includes a 30 month report of a person's credit payments and highlights their payment behavior. As of now, credit reports only show the amount of credit available, if a borrower has made their payments on time, and the balance. Trended data will provide the history behind the balance, scheduled payments, and payments the borrower makes each month. The guideline for how this will affect the underwriting process has not been announced.

2. What determines your credit score?

35%  - of your payment behavior and history accounts for your credit score.

30%  - of the amount you owe determines your credit score.

15%  - is based off of how long you have had credit.

3. Interesting Facts.

60%  - of adults have yet to look at their credit score in the past 12 months.

33%  - of Americans have 2 credit cards as of 2014.

Source: Courtesy of Diane Mohr, Envoy Mortgage,

Mortgage Banker NMLS# 255736

760-953-9277

dmohr@envoymortgage.com

Most common first name, male, in the U.S  -  James

In the world - Muhammod( various spellings)

Most common first name, female, in the U.S. - Mary

In the world - Sophia( various spellings)

Source: Good Housekeeping.com.

                             Closing

1. Top 2 problems that cause contracts to be delayed, but eventually close:

a. Obtaining financing

b. Appraisal issues

2. Top 2 problems that cause contracts not to close:

a. Home Inspection/environmental issues

b. Financing issues

Source: RealtorMag, Daily Real Estate News, June 2, 2016.

                      Capital Punishment

Our country is divided on the use of the death sentence as appropriate punishment, even for the most heinous of crimes. You might be interested to know how some other countries compare to us when it comes to executing it's citizens.

According to Amnesty International, at least 1634 people were put to death in 25 countries in 2015. These are the numbers they were able to confirm from the 4 highest countries:

Iran  -              977

Pakistan  -       320

Saudi Arabia  - 158

United States     28

China - Amnesty considers China the world's #1 executioner, but reliable data is impossible to obtain. Amnesty believes the numbers are in the thousands. Iran executed 16 women and 4 juveniles. Pakistan hangs offenders. Saudi Arabia uses beheadings and firing squads. We are the only country in the Americas to execute people, and the 28 in 2015 was the lowest number recorded since 1991.

Amnesty says the 2015 total was a 50% increase over 2014. Also, 2/3 of the world's nations have either abandoned the death penalty in law or in practice.

Draw your own conclusions.

Source: Reported by Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times, April 6, 2016.

The Playboy Mansion has been sold for a reported $105 million dollars. Part of the deal is that Hef gets to stay there till he dies.

"You are never wrong to do the right thing." Mark Twain.

If you enjoyed this Newsletter, tell a friend.

If you know how I can make it better, tell me.

Thanks for reading.

Denny Stanz

CA Broker # 01915404

760-245-5366 

760-245-5367 fax 

dennystanz@verizon.net

www.CaliforniaNoteCompany.com