What's New at Moore Appraisals

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Southland buyers committed themselves to paying was $1,090 last month, down from $1,081 for the previous month, and down from a revised $1,940 for February year ago. Adjusted for inflation, current payments were 49.9 percent below typical payments in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. They were 58.9 percent below the current cycle's peak in July 2007.

Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity is off its 2008 peak but remains at historically high levels, while financing with adjustable-rate mortgages is at an all-time low, as is financing with multiple mortgages. Down payment sizes and flipping rates are stable, and non-owner occupied buying activity is above-average in some markets, MDA DataQuick reported.

	Sales Volume			Median Price
All homes	Feb-08	Feb-09	%Chng	Feb-08	Feb-09	%Chng
Los Angeles	3,468	4,590	32.4%	$460,000	$299,000	-35.0%
Orange	1,471	1,879	27.7%	$520,000	$375,000	-27.9%
Riverside	2,147	3,420	59.3%	$325,000	$190,000	-41.5%
San Bernardino	1,242	2,324	87.1%	$290,000	$153,000	-47.2%
San Diego	1,954	2,473	26.6%	$415,000	$285,000	-31.3%
Ventura	495	545	10.1%	$445,000	$327,000	-26.5%
SoCal	10,777	15,231	41.3%	$408,000	$250,000	-38.7%