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May 07, 2010

SLOW BUT SURE GAINS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HOUSING MARKET
The sales of homes, as well as their cost, maintained a slow but sure ascension from the low point of the market this past month in the Southern California region, which includes San Diego County. This can be attributed to buyers rushing to purchase homes while prices and financing costs remain low. Purchases still lean toward the lower priced distress homes, though less so than before.

As an indication of just how bad things became in the real estate market, there have now been nearly 2 years of sales increases, yet they are still 18% lower than the normal average number of sales. It seems that the market will not come back to a point of balance until there is a normalization of mortgage lending arrangements, which is not yet taking place. Many of the better buys at the moment take place when the purchaser offers cash.

While sales of lower priced distress homes have slowed a bit during the past year, sales have increased in more expensive neighborhoods in which there were occasional lower-priced bargains to be found.

Higher priced sales remain impeded by the uneasy market for larger amount, or "Jumbo", loans which seems to have gotten a bit better lately.