Yes, prices are down. Yes, there are a lot of foreclosures involved. And, yes, Southern California’s sales are going through the roof. DataQuick.com reports sales up in the double digits for the second month running. Sales are up ranging from 10 to 48 percent across the region.

"What we're looking at is a fire sale of properties in newer affordable neighborhoods that were bought or refinanced near the price peak with lousy mortgages,” says John Walsh, president of DataQuick. “What we're still not seeing is this level of distress spreading to more expensive or established neighborhoods."

The new prices -- down 25 to 35 percent from a year ago -- reflect lower monthly payments -- $800 lower -- for the new owners of these properties $800 per month, half of which were obtained via foreclosure. The average monthly payment is now at $1,632 for properties that a year ago would have cost $2,447 a year ago.

DataQuick reports that “the median price paid for a Southland home was $348,000 in July, down 2 percent from $355,000 in June and down 31 percent from $505,000 for July 2007.”

Such drastic changes in one of the country’s most robust real estate markets has finally pulled buyers off the fence and into the game.

Published: September 5, 2008

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Mr. Carr is an award-winning real estate broker in Northern Virginia and authored "Real Estate Investing Made Simple: a commonsense approach to building wealth." He also contributed to Donald Trump’s book, "The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received," and is an active trainer and coach of top producers in the Washington DC market. As a sought-after expert on real estate, Mr. Carr has been featured on CNN, various broadcast outlets and was the former real estate editor for The Washington Times. He accepts questions at his blog www.RealEstateOlogy.org.