Blog

The recent job report compiled by the O.C. Register suggests that the recent onslaught of layoffs may be coming to an end. Only 60 additional layoffs were reported to the state in the three week period between late March and early April. For all of March, the O.C. Register counted 850 major layoffs (50 or more) for the entire county. That compares with 2,654 layoffs in January and 3,019 in February.

These job cuts are only for larger companies and don’t reflect the thousands who have lost jobs from smaller employers or those who are self-employed. Nor does it count layoffs from large employers done in small numbers. (…)

The Obama administration rolled out an aggressive plan today to combat a wave of foreclosure-rescue scams, while providing assistance to as many as nine million homeowners.

The multi-agency announcement came as tens of millions of homeowners are struggling under the heavy burden of their existing home loans. “American homeowners desperately need the relief the program offers, but the very last thing they need is to be taken advantage of as they try to hold on to their homes,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said during the announcement. (…)

Pending sales of existing homes in Orange County increased by 22 percent over the past two weeks, bringing the number of pending sales to 4,905, their highest point since September of 2005. Providing the stimulus buyers needed was a powerful combination of lower prices, reduced interest rates and pent-up demand. Last year at this time, pending sales totaled 2,852 (1,698 fewer than today) and in 2007 at this time, total pending sales were 3,047 (1,858 fewer than today).

Meanwhile, the inventory of homes for sale has dropped to 11,026, 580 less than just two weeks ago. This is the lowest level seen since August of 2006. Last year at this time there were 15,474 active listings in Orange County, 4,448 more than today. The average expected time to sell a home dropped to 3.4 months, down from 6.77 months at this point last year and 6.57 months two years ago. This is the lowest this measurement has been since March 2006. (…)