Marching along...

March has been picking up. Not much going on in the past six months but now that interest rates have dropped people are starting to refi. Much of Solano and Contra Costa have taken huge downturns in property values as have Alameda and many other locations around the bay. On the upside, some buyers are taking advantage of the discounted "bank owned' and "short sale" pricing. Value strongholds include San Francisco, Santa Clara, and Marin counties to name a few. From what I can tell, an abundance of "bank owned (REO)" properties as well as a high number of "short sales" are to blame for the declines. I predict foreclosures and declines to continue until early 2009 and possible beyond. Refi now because the rates aren't going any lower.