Here's a link to our company president's bi-weekly market report for Orange County, California:

http://www.OurAgentSpot.com/sthomas/MarketTime-May-29-08.pdf 

For a synopsis, the number of houses going into escrow - demand - has increased dramatically so far this year, to a point better than the past two years.  Fueling this growth has been three significant factors. 

First, the number of foreclosures and other types of distressed sales has continued to increase.  These properties represent more than half of properties going into escrow.

Second, the emergence of all those distressed properties has contributed to significant price declines, throughout our area.  Depending on the neighborhood, there have been reductions, from the highs of a year or two ago, ranging from 5% to over 25%.

Third, because of these price reductions, properties have again become much more affordable, especially for first time buyers, who make up more than half of those going into escrow.

This is a great time to be looking for property in our area - there are still some exceptional opportunities out there.  The only down side at the moment is that because it's such a bad time to be selling, if you have to sell your present house in order to buy your next one, this isn't a good time for that.

There are two ways to make that a positive experience, however.  First, in most cases you'll be getting a terrific buy on your purchase, so a loss on your sale makes it all pretty much a wash.  Second, if you're in a position to make your present house a rental, instead of selling it, the rental market is good in our area right now - so, lease your house out for a couple of years, and then sell it in a better selling market.

For any help with any of these scenarios, or just to talk about the possibilities, drop me an email or give me a call.  I've been helping my friends and neighbors successfully navigate the local real estate market for over 31 years.  Bob Phillips, of ReMax, at 949-643-2100, or at BobPhillips@Remax.net.