How Many Meals Should You Eat Per Day?

Conventional wisdom says you should eat three meals per day, one when you wake up, one at midday, and one in the evening. This convention, though, is actually rather new. And not at all backed by science — it’s based around standard work schedules more than anything. You eat before work, you have a meal during your lunch break, and you come home and eat with your family. However, your meal times should be limited to a smaller window.

Fasting is actually a very necessary process to help repair damage to the body. Of course, this can include the normal eight hours of sleep. But for a healthy body, eight hours should actually be the time that you’re eating, and you should fast the rest of the day, or at least twelve hours. It is possible to do this while still eating three meals, but the standard work schedule makes this difficult. You don’t need as much food as you’re probably eating, though, and you could even just eat one meal per day if you really wanted to. Breakfast in the morning used to be reserved for wealthy people who could afford to eat that often. Skipping breakfast and waiting until your lunch break to eat is actually not a bad idea, even if many people nowadays only do so because they lack the time. For a while, you’re going to be hungry in the mornings, but this is a psychological effect because your body is used to eating at that time, and is temporary. The same thing would happen if you shifted to a new work schedule and had different meal times. It doesn’t actually mean your body needs food.

Photo by Ben Kolde on Unsplash

More: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220412-should-we-be-eating-three-meals-a-day

Has Homeowner Tenure Reached Its Peak?

Over approximately the past decade, the average length of time homeowners have stayed in their home has steadily increased, from 10.1 years in 2012 to the peak of 13.5 years in 2020. Until last year. The figure actually dipped in 2021, decreasing to 13.2 years, even slightly below the 2019 average of 13.3 years.

Much of this can be attributed to the economic aftermath of the pandemic, as relocations increased dramatically in 2021 as a result of work-from-home opportunities and low mortgage rates. It’s unclear whether this is a temporary decline, or 2020 was the peak of homeowner tenure and it’s going to continue to decrease. Analyzing the reasons for the decrease and why it’s been increasing in the first place suggests it’s probably going to go back up. Work-from-home is still happening; however, mortgage rates are no longer low and are still going up. Meanwhile, the initial reasons for the increase over the past decade include increased propensity for aging in place and a desire to keep one’s property tax base low. Neither of these are changing much, even with the ability to transfer your property tax base in some cases.

Photo by Joaquin Paz y Miño on Unsplash

More: https://www.redfin.com/news/2021-homeowner-tenure/

How to Become a Property Manager

Property management is a practical field to enter if you are worried about economic stability. It’s incredibly recession proof, as housing is a necessity and therefore people will be renting properties regardless of the economic conditions. But you can’t just decide on a whim to be a property manager — it has legal requirements and best practices.

In the vast majority of cases, being a property manager requires a broker’s license. There are certain cases in which it doesn’t, but they would not apply for rental properties, which are the bulk of managed properties. If you don’t want to get a broker’s license, though, you can consider managing commercial properties, but there would still be many restrictions.

First Tuesday, a real estate journal, has assembled a Property Management 101 infographic, complete with links to articles and PDFs for additional explication. This contains more specific details about the legal requirements, other applicable laws, and market information. You can find the infographic here: https://journal.firsttuesday.us/property-management-101/82682/

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

Inflation Hits Los Angeles: South Bay Real Estate – March 2022

The Federal Reserve Bank tries to keep annual inflation at around 2%. Over the past 12 months the median price increase of a home in the South Bay ranged from 7% (Inland area) to 32% (PV Hill). Clearly housing in the LA area is exceeding the desired inflation rate.

The recent Fed report to Congress stated, “Mortgage rates for households remain low despite recent increases.” In other words, the Fed considers 5% mortgage rates to be “low.” As part of the battle to control runaway inflation, the Fed is expected to implement rate increases. Estimates for how much higher we can expect mortgage rates to rise in the coming year range from approximately 1% to 2% more.

Rates currently at about 5%, we can already see an impact on sales volume and prices in our local monthly data. Real estate industry pundits are projecting an imminent recession. Some say “mild, in 2023.” Some are comparing the current market environment to the 2007 lead-up to the Great Recession. Keeping a probable recession in mind, let’s look at the March sales data.

Sales Volume

March is the month when South Bay denizens shake off the winter doldrums and get serious about real estate. The chart last year looked very similar to this. This year the Hill and the Beach were up slightly from last year. The Inland and Harbor areas increased at the same rate as in 2021. Compared to last year’s market, 2022 is distinctly more normal.

The chart makes it look like the Harbor area took an especially large leap in March. That’s just because the Harbor area is so much larger and so many more homes are sold there than the other three areas.. On a percentile basis, sales of Beach homes actually increased at a steeper rate. Sales at the Beach were up from the prior month by 71%, while Harbor area sales increased by 61%.

Normally, we would expect the sales volume to level off now and remain roughly a even line until winter when sales taper off again. If, in the battle to contain inflation, mortgage interest rates climb as fast as the Fed has indicated, we can expect to see the number of homes selling decline. We expect buyers who must buy will adjust the size of the purchase to meet their financing capability. Buyers who aren’t compelled to buy will probably delay and wait for better circumstances.

Median Price

Today, the best measure of home prices is comparing to last month. The market in 2021 was recovering, so some statistics are comparable, while others are still showing signs of impact from the pandemic.

March gave us a month-to-month downturn of -4% on the Hill. Of course, if you remember from last month, February saw escrow close on several new construction homes. Those units pushed the median price exceptionally high, so what we’re seeing now is a return to normal.

While median prices on the Hill were dipping, the Harbor area was flat. Prices there were +4% in January, slowed to +1% in February and had no change in March. This is the largest market area in the South Bay and is often a precursor for change.

The Beach and the Inland areas show continuing price increases of 3% and 5% respectively. Looking back to the first of the year, the Beach has been varied. The March price shift at the Beach is down from the February increase of 6%, but is up from the January decrease of -12%. The Inland numbers show steady growth from -2% in January to +5% in March.

Monthly Sales Dollars

The dollar value of March sales in the South Bay showed positive increases for all areas for the first time this year. This is important because normal growth in our capitalist system will almost always show the sold value from the current year to be larger than that of the preceeding year. The negative numbers from January and February are reflections of the troubled economics of 2021.

We expect the sales dollars to level out as the median price pulls back to a normal growth pattern. If the Fed is to realize any kind of reasonable slowdown for inflation, the monthly median prices have to stabilize at a rate of increase barely above zero. As of March the cumulative median for each area ranges from +3% to +20%. We’re not going to get to +2% inflation with those results.

The Statistics

Supposedly, charts are easier to read for most people. I like to include this table because it packs all the data from the three charts above, plus background detail, into a fraction of the space. Here we see the specific quanties sold in each area, plus the median price of the area, for the month of March.

% symbol indicates no change from prior period.

More importantly, the table shows at a glance how March 2022 compared to February of this year, and March of last year. All four areas currently have increasing sales, in part because the inventory is growing. In addition, there’s a bit of panic from the rapid interest rate increase.

At the same time, the table quickly shows that the median price has moderated in all four areas from what was happening in 2021.

Notable Sales

The South Bay in Los Angeles is a highly diverse area. In the distance of a few minutes it’s possible to drive from the lowest priced property sold in March to the highest priced property sold in March.

This studio condo in Long Beach sold for $249,900. It offers 441 sqft of airspace, no assigned parking, has an HOA fee of $149, and was originally built in 1913.


This 7 bedroom, 15 bathroom house in Palos Verdes Estates sold for $17,150,000. It offers 13,000 sqft on a 3 acre lot, has 5 garage spaces and was built in 2006.

Main photograph by Randy Jose on Unsplash

CA Bills Up For Vote This Week

Among the California State bills that the Assembly is voting on this week are four bills related to real estate. These are AB 2050, AB 2469, AB 2710, and AB 2053. Most of these bills are aimed at protecting tenant rights, while AB 2053 is designed to create revenue-neutral affordable housing. The voting will take place on April 19th and 20th.

AB 2050 modifies the Ellis Act, which allows landlords to evict tenants in order to stop renting the property altogether. AB 2050 would require a landlord to rent out their property for at least 5 years before invoking the Ellis Act. AB 2469 establishes a mandatory statewide rental registry, which prohibits landlords from raising rents or evicting tenants without submitting information to the registry each time the lease is initiated, altered, or terminated. AB 2710 establishes Right of First Offer legislation, requiring owners of currently tenant-occupied property to offer sale to certain qualified entities, including the tenants, before accepting an offer. The seller does not need to accept an offer from qualified entities, but must give them ten days to match any accepted offer. AB 2053 establishes the California Housing Authority, which is designed to build and acquire mixed-use affordable rental housing, which would be publicly owned.

Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

Younger Generations Look to Social Media to Find Agents

You’ve heard of first-time homebuyers. You don’t hear as much about first-time homesellers, even though of course they must exist. But now there’s reason for them to make the news. It turns out a significant number of homeowners in the younger generations — Gen Z and Millennials — are already looking to sell, despite also being the predominant first-time homebuyer generations. This includes 44% of Gen Z homeowners and 35% of Millennial homeowners.

With both first-time homebuyers and first-time homesellers being mainly between the ages of 18 and 41, agents really need to focus their marketing efforts if they want to do business with them. That requires knowing what people in this age category are looking at in terms of marketing. 59% of Gen Zers and 65% of Millennials consider social media marketing to be important for a real estate agent. Fortunately, this isn’t likely to ostracize other cohorts, since 58% of Gen Xers and 60% of Baby Boomers are in agreement. Agents that don’t have social media presence and are struggling to find deals may want to rethink their strategy.

Photo by Bram Naus on Unsplash

More: https://blog.coldwellbanker.com/genz-millennial-homebuyers/

Stagnant Wages Major Struggle for First-Time Homebuyers

Many older people think of Millennials as being young kids who have no life experience and no financial know-how. The reality is Millennials are in the normal age range for first-time homebuyers, and some are even older. Their financial problems are not due to lack of knowledge. It’s due to a series of economic struggles that were completely out of their control.

Most Millennials came to age during the Great Recession, and so employment simply wasn’t available during the years when they were expected to find a job. That has made it more difficult to find one even after the Great Recession ended, as employers are expecting someone their age to have more experience. The 2020 recession, during a time when society expects their age group to be looking for a house, hit Millennials yet again.

In addition, inflation has far outpaced wage growth. Even those Millennials who have a job are not earning nearly as much adjusted for inflation as older generations were at the same age. Only about half of Millennials are employed full-time, and less than two-thirds are employed at all. Even though wages are increasing, they are still stagnant because of how quickly prices are increasing. Between 2012, when the market was finally recovering from the Great Recession, and 2020, when the most recent recession started, wage growth was at 24%. Home prices, however, went up over 3.5 times as much, by 86%.

Photo by Jp Valery on Unsplash

More: https://journal.firsttuesday.us/employment-and-wages-highest-hurdles-for-millennial-first-time-homebuyers/82778/

Mortgage Rates Approaching 5%

After a period of low mortgage rates, they’re going back up quickly. That is the expected effect of current Fed policy, but we may hit 5% faster than expected, possibly as early as next month. As of the beginning of April, the average 30-year fixed rate was 4.59%. If they do hit 5%, it would be highest rate in the past decade, though they did get close in November of 2018 at 4.94%.

The increasing rates are definitely going to slow down the real estate market. That may be a good thing for the market, given how hot it’s been, but it’s definitely not good for buyers. Demand isn’t going to disappear completely, though. And the effect is probably mostly psychological. Historically speaking, 5% isn’t a particularly high rate. It’s just that rates have been trending downward for quite some time, so it isn’t going to be familiar territory for the new generations of buyers.

Photo by Library of Congress on Unsplash

More: https://www.marketwatch.com/picks/inevitable-in-the-very-near-future-4-economists-and-real-estate-pros-on-exactly-when-mortgage-rates-will-hit-5-01648838969

Despite Work-From-Home, Many Relocations Are Local

It’s true that some people have taken work-from-home as an opportunity to travel far and wide, but it could be that most buyers still want to be relatively near where they already are. They also aren’t looking for major changes in community type, whether urban, suburban, or rural. Nor are their motivations primarily financial, except in cases in which they changed jobs.

In a small survey of 514 respondents who were actively searching for a home, just over 40% of them were looking between 6 and 50 miles away, and over a quarter were searching between 2-5 miles away. However, it is important to note that of those looking more than 50 miles away, most were looking over 500 miles away. Between 63% and 77% of respondents wanted to stay in the same community type, and if they wanted a switchup, it would probably be to a suburban area. The primary reasons for moving were either lifestyle fit or major life events, not a growing wanderlust prompted by the possibility of a work-from-home model.

Photo by Kornél Máhl on Unsplash

More: https://email.ojo.com/is-there-really-a-great-migration-happening

Major Obstacles to FSBO Success

Attempting to sell your home yourself, without paying an agent, may seem tempting. Especially if this isn’t your first sale, you may think you know everything. The fact of the matter is, you probably don’t; moreover, FSBO presents problems even if you understand the process.

In order to sell your home, you’ll need to take time out of your day to show your home to prospective buyers. This could be a colossal waste of time if the buyers aren’t actually interested and just want to look. There’s also a large amount of paperwork involved. That also takes time, and it’s easy to make mistakes. Maybe you think you’ve done all the paperwork before and know how it works, but the laws could have changed or this sale could involve paperwork the previous sale didn’t require. Even professional agents make mistakes sometimes — but they have errors and omissions insurance. You probably don’t. That can lead to lawsuits. In the unlikely situation that you’ve done all your research and know exactly what to do, it’s still likely that you’ll receive fewer or lower offers. Agents tend to be wary of FBSO sales because of all the issues they can present, and so are unlikely to show them to their clients.

Photo by Pedro Ramos on Unsplash

Eviction Protections Extended for ERA Applicants

Many people are still delinquent on rent payments as a result of the recent recession. Some relief came in the form of emergency rental assistance (ERA), which also required landlords take additional steps before being able to evict for nonpayment. The additional protections were set to expire on March 31st, but there was a last minute change to the law.

Under the new regulations, while the protection will still only apply to delinquencies on rent payments owed before March 31st, it will now continue to apply to those delinquencies through July 30th if the ERA application is still being processed. Tenants will still owe rent for April and subsequent months, even if their ERA application for earlier payments is still being processed.

Photo by Sheldon Kennedy on Unsplash

More: https://journal.firsttuesday.us/covid-19-eviction-noticing-rules-extended-for-era-applicants/82649/

Staying Competitive as a Buyer in a Hot Market

Spring tends to be the hottest season for the real estate market, which means heavy buyer competition, especially while inventory is still recovering. These tips, including some lesser-known ones, can help you stay in the running.

It’s not unusual for homes to be listed low in order to garner interest. While this may not be necessary with higher demand than supply, it’s good to know that you may want to look lower than your expected budget. Even if an offer is accepted near the list price, that just means you have a bit extra for repairs or updates. Alternatively, you could put it towards a higher earnest money deposit, which shows the seller you’re actually serious. Getting an actual approval letter, and not just a pre-approval, will do the same thing.

There are also a few contract terms you can change to appeal more to sellers. A good agent can advise you on matters related to your current situation to see which contract terms are best for you. These include various waivers, particularly an inspection waiver; a lease-back for sellers who are also prospective buyers; and a relatively unknown thing called an escalation clause. An escalation clause, also called an escalator, lets the seller know as soon as they receive your offer that you are willing to increase the offer if outbid, and defines an upper limit. This can prevent a situation in which the seller sees your offer, sees an offer higher than yours, and accepts the higher offer, without realizing that the higher offer is actually lower than what you are willing to pay.

Photo by Steven Weeks on Unsplash

More: https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/secrets-thatll-help-you-buy-a-house-today/

Buyers Want to Bring the Outdoors Into Their Home

What buyers want and what they’re able to get isn’t always the same thing. Buyers nowadays are frequently settling, due to high prices. However, their search keywords are a decent indicator of what they want, even if it’s just wishful thinking. And what they want right now is outdoor living, except from the comfort of their home.

The number 1 most searched home feature is a swimming pool. In fact, buyers currently seem rather obsessed with water. If they can’t get a pool or hot tub, many are happy with a view of the water, and it doesn’t necessarily need to be an ocean view. The second most searched term is a view of rivers, and beaches, waterfronts, lakes, or really any kind of water is a popular view. Buyers are also looking for other types of outdoor amenities, such as horse facilities, boating facilities, golf, tennis, and basketball. And of course, they search for a large lot or outbuildings to accommodate all these features.

Photo by Kristina Laskova on Unsplash

More: https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/the-top-amenities-homebuyers-are-looking-for-ahead-of-spring-buying-season/

Tax Tips for Homeowners

Tax season is upon us. You may have already started working on your taxes. But perhaps you haven’t thought about everything you may be able to deduct. Some of the most significant costs of homeownership can be tax-deductible.

Many people are aware that their property taxes may be tax deductible — if you didn’t, well, now you do. But did you know that the interest on your mortgage always is? Your lender should have this line separated out, so it’s easy to find and deduct from your taxes. Another homeownership cost that is sometimes tax deductible is home repairs. Significant repairs are probably tax deductible. Be sure to check with a tax professional to determine which of these you can actually deduct. They may even be able to find more tax-deductible expenses you weren’t thinking of.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Qualifying For a Loan on a Single Income

With home prices as high as they are, qualifying for a loan becomes more difficult. This is especially true if your household is single-income. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. There are options available for low-income households.

As always, it’s important to check your credit score before attempting to get a loan. You can check it for free once per year from any major credit bureau. If your credit looks good enough to qualify for a loan, you can advance to searching for loans. For low-income households, the best place to look is government loans, since these usually have lower thresholds for down payments. Some FHA loans require only 3.5% down. Your specific region may also have government loan programs. If your credit score is low, however, consider looking for a co-signer for your loans. The co-signer doesn’t necessarily need to be the one paying, but if their credit score is better than yours, it will help improve your chances of loan approval and possibly even get you a lower interest rate on the loan.

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

Mid-April Could Be the Sweet Spot for Sellers

Realtor.com has released their Best Time to Sell Report for 2022, and the predictions land on April 10-16. Spring is usually a hot season for the real estate market, and this year is no different. Demand is going up, prices are still high, and inventory is still low. Homes are already selling quickly after listing.

It’s not going to last for too much longer, though, which is why the window is so small. Mortgage rates are increasing, which will reduce buyer demand or cause them to look for lower priced listings. Inventory is also starting to recover as construction is accelerating. Also, if you are planning to sell in order to buy a new home, keep in mind that the best time to sell is frequently not a good time to buy.

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

More: https://news.move.com/2022-03-14-Let-the-Countdown-to-Realtor-com-R-Listapalooza-Begin-April-10-16-Is-the-Best-Week-to-List-a-Home-in-2022

What is a Multigenerational Home?

Multigenerational homes are becoming more common recently. But what exactly does that mean? And why? A multigenerational home has a rather simple definition. It includes any home in which two or more generations of adults live in the same building. This doesn’t include children, but children can be present as well.

Common examples of multigenerational homes are parents of young children living with the children’s grandparents and adult children moving in with their parents. The former is frequently in order to give parents some extra help raising their kids. Moving back in with your parents, or vice versa, can be done for a couple reasons. A common one is recent college graduates wanting to have a place to stay while they pay down their student loans. Sometimes older parents move in with their children because they need help taking care of themselves.

Photo by 𝔥𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞𝔯𝔶 𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔞𝔩𝔱𝔞 on Unsplash

How Refinancing Can Help Pay Off Your Loan Faster

There are two main reasons to refinance your home. One is to reduce your monthly payments in order to free up cash, and the other is to pay off the loan more quickly. But refinancing doesn’t just simply do this automatically; you have to choose a new mortgage with terms that work for you. Figure out what your goal is and pick the right mortgage.

Reducing your interest rate is the surest way to free up cash, but it can also simply be used to pay off the loan faster. With a lower interest rate, a greater percentage of the principal is reduced each time you make a payment. However, this only works if you can qualify for a lower interest rate. If you don’t qualify normally, consider reducing the length of the mortgage. This will probably result in higher monthly payments, but will also likely allow you to qualify for a lower rate, and almost certainly allow you to pay off the mortgage faster as long as you make the payments. If you have plenty of cash on hand and just want to save money in the long run, consider replacing your mortgage with one that allows you to make larger payments on your principal. This is more costly in the short term, but would allow you to pay off the loan early and thus spend less on interest, reducing the overall cost.

Photo by Morgan Housel on Unsplash

Missteps of Inexperienced Home Sellers

Sellers who haven’t done their research, especially first-time sellers, are prone to certain errors when selling their home. Many of these involve wanting to get as much money as they possibly can. What sellers don’t realize is that they may need to either temper their expectations or spend some money to make money. Besides these sorts of issues, sellers also sometimes don’t have a new place lined up for themselves for when the sale goes through, which can cause them to spend unnecessary money on temporary rentals.

Especially in a hot market, sellers tend to overprice their homes. It’s true that prices are high right now, but listing your home at exactly market value isn’t going to draw attention. List lower, and let market competition do more of the heavy lifting. More competition also means more serious offers, but do keep an eye out for offers that seem too good to be true — they probably are, and would be a waste of time. Time is something you don’t want to waste when trying to sell your home, since interest will wane and home values may change. The best offer isn’t necessarily the highest offer, either; look at contingencies and down payment percent as well.

“For sale by owner,” or FSBO, can be tempting because it cuts out the middleman. If sellers don’t have to pay an agent, they keep more of the profit. Seems simple, but as it turns out, their profit will probably still be higher with an agent representing them. Agents have better marketing tools, more experience with pricing and staging, and the ability to host open houses or get in contact with photographers and videographers to create virtual tours. FSBO sellers can decide to do these things themselves, but the cost comes out of their pocket, so they don’t manage to skip out entirely on costs.

Photo by Ibrahim Boran on Unsplash

More: https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/things-first-time-home-sellers-get-wrong/

March Real Estate Market Trends

Prices are still going up, as are interest rates. Despite this, the market is currently going strong. It’s unclear whether this is temporary or seasonal, or part of a larger trend, but the near future of real estate is looking fairly good.

The reason for the rate increase is a recent increase to the federal funds rate of 25 basis points. The initial announcement didn’t have an immediate effect, but later caused an increase in interest rates. This, in addition to rising prices, has contributed to a decrease in home sales. However, it’s still above pre-pandemic levels, and supply is improving, which should help keep prices in line.

Part of the reason for supply increases is increased construction. Though construction actually decreased in the Western US, it has increased elsewhere and is at its strongest since 2006. Builders remain confident despite a slight drop in confidence, from 81 to 79, due to increased costs.

Photo by Parker Coffman on Unsplash