Here is an interesting article from the Modesto Bee.Stanislaus County housing prices stabilized a bit last month, slowing the brutal price plunge that began three years ago.
Median-priced homes sold for $160,000 during November, which was $1,500 less than October. That decline was far less than previous price drops. Between September and October, for instance, home prices fell $17,500.
Stanislaus home values have fallen nearly 60 percent since peaking three years ago, according to housing statistics provided by MDA DataQuick.
First-time home buyers and investors are taking advantage of the now-affordable pricing. Sales volume was strong during November, as more than twice as many homes sold compared with the same month last year.
The sales statistics aren't nearly as comforting for Merced and San Joaquin counties.
Merced prices continued plummeting in November, falling to a median of $124,500. That was $12,250 less than October, and nearly 66 percent below what houses were selling for three years ago.
San Joaquin prices dropped to $172,000 last month, a staggering $28,000 fall from October. Its home values have declined nearly 62 percent in three years.
The Northern San Joaquin Valley has been rocked by the foreclosure crisis, which experts agree is pushing down home prices. Those experts disagree, however, on whether the region is through the worst of the housing mess.
"It comes down to just the sheer volume of problem loans in your area," said Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac, which monitors foreclosures nationwide. Sharga predicted the region will continue to lead the country in foreclosures through 2009.
But since this region was first to enter the foreclosure mess, some think it may be among the first to rally.
"It is already recovering," said Sean O'Toole, founder of ForeclosureRadar, which tracks California real estate. He said it's a good sign that the valley's sales are up and prices are affordable. "Whereas the so-called strong areas in California, like San Mateo or San Francisco, are now only beginning to correct (by lowering prices). At current prices, I'd much rather own property in Modesto than Palo Alto at the moment."
Bargains to be had
Local realty firms also are seeing some positive signs.
"There's a tremendous amount of demand for housing at these prices, and there are good interest rates right now," said Mike Zagaris, president of Modesto-based PMZ Real Estate.
Whether home buyers will continue to be able to take advantage of low-cost housing opportunities depends on the economy, Zagaris said, "because we have a growing recession that's putting people out of work."
Zagaris also is concerned that many current owners are giving up their homes because they've lost so much equity.
"I'm being told by my people in the trenches that the vast majority of those facing foreclosures now have no interest in redoing their loans. They just want out," Zagaris said. "If that's true, there's no stopping these foreclosures."
Demand catching up
What has stopped is most new home construction.
That's good, according to Sharga, because the region needs to reduce its overall inventory of homes so demand can catch up with supply.
Most of the valley's new home builders have sold all their finished houses and they're only building new ones after they sign sales contracts, according to Kent Steinwert, chief executive officer for Farmers & Merchants Bank of Central California. He thinks that will stabilize new home prices.
Steinwert is bullish on the valley's housing future: "The fundamentals are there. We're growing in population ... and we can't build enough homes long term to meet demand."
Population estimates released this week show there's been a shift in who is living in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.
More people are moving out of the region than are moving in. New population estimates from California's Department of Finance determined that about 6,824 more people moved to other parts of the United States from Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced counties this year than moved to the region.
But new immigrants from foreign countries and high birth rates among current residents more than made up for that loss, the figures showed, so the three counties still gained in population.
They seem to never end. This place has been on the market for six months, and no takers. I can't imagine why this place has not sold. 
Three years ago this lot would have sold for this asking price.
Nice view, but this person will be lucky to get $200,000 in my opinion.
There are more and more homes on the market now that look like this. If you are behind on payments, then I suggest you try and work things out. Part of that process is called
So here I go again with my favorite pastime of searching for real estate. I found some real estate in Austin that was interesting to me. I have never known too much about this place so it was fun to search for houses and Austin Foreclosures.
How many Foreclosures can you find in this picture? Hint look for the dead lawns.
From The Lake Havasu Newspaper
Summerland Beach
Here is an interesting article about the Modesto Real Estate.last updated: June 18, 2008 10:27:42 PM
Home prices plunged again in May, but sales of existing homes surged.
Median sales prices fell to $215,000 in Stanislaus County, which was $10,000 lower than in April and 36.6 percent below May 2007, according to DataQuick Information Systems.
But the number of existing homes sold soared by more than 89 percent this May compared with a year ago.
Blame foreclosed houses for both the price drop and the sales spike.
"Banks are competing against banks to get the foreclosure inventory off their books, and that's driving the prices down," said Craig Lewis, president of Prudential California Realty.
Lewis won't call it a fire sale, but he said banks are doing whatever they must to get those vacant houses sold.
"They're bargain-priced, which provides a tremendous opportunity for buyers," said Lewis, recalling how Stanislaus County median prices peaked at $392,000 in 2005. "It's probably the best buying window we've had in the Central Valley in perhaps 30 or 40 years."
First-time buyers are competing with investors to grab those deals.
"If the home is priced in the $100,000s, we're getting an average of 10 offers to buy," said John Melo, chief executive officer of Century 21 M&M and Associates. "First-time buyers are out in force ... and we have a lot of Bay Area investors coming in paying cash for homes."
Investors typically opt for homes priced at $175,000 or less, Melo said, because they can rent them out at a profit even after paying the mortgage, taxes, insurance and maintenance costs.
On Wednesday alone, Melo said, his staff made 27 pending sales. Of them, 21 were bank-owned homes, two were "short sales" -- where the lender must agree to accept less than what is owed on the mortgage -- and four were traditional sales.
While low-priced existing homes are selling well, new houses are hardly selling at all. Only 68 new homes sold during May throughout Stanislaus County, which was a drop of nearly 45 percent compared with 2007.
Melo said his agents handle sales in Atwater's Meadow View subdivision, which hasn't sold a single home in 45 days. It has 17 finished houses sitting empty.
"It's hard for the new home builders to compete with the prices on all those bank-owned houses," Melo said.
"Wet Wednesday"
Don't Move Your Belongings Like This Poor Guy
Glass Half Full Real Estate Agency:
You would be surprised what's in the backyards of foreclosures. This guy is out doing some fishing in the pool. I guess with gas prices he didn't want to drive to the nearest lake.
And when I see the sign that points one way
The lot we used to pass by every day
Just walk away Dan K.
You won't see me follow you back home
The empty sidewalks on my block are not the same
You're not to blame Dan K.
From deep inside the tears I'm forced to cry
From deep inside the pain I chose to hide
Just walk away Dan K.
You won't see me follow you back home (because I know you won't be there anyway)
Now as the rain beats down upon my weary eyes
For me it cries...
