California, Nevada and Arizona are finally turning the Corner

Continuing on from last week's real estate updates by region, today's post breaks down why people are jumping into the market in places that haven't been open to first time home-buyers for decades.

While I never recommend you try to time the housing market, if you’re in the market for a new home, it helps to pay attention to its cyclical nature. In tough times like these, prices drop and the market becomes more attractive. The more people that get in, the higher prices rise. While there are still deals out there, this map shows that some of the regions that were hit the hardest by the housing crisis in 2007 and 2008 have begun to bounce back in early 2009 with increased sales numbers. Luckily for me one of those regions is California!

In some regions, sale prices of homes have plummeted as much as 50%, so more people have been jumping into the market with their fingers crossed, especially with 30 year fixed rates falling below 5% for the first time in recent memory. The metropolitan areas that are highlighted are those with the highest percentage of change in median sales prices. The highest percentage of increases in home sales are in areas where prices have dropped the most over the past year. For bargain hunters, this is an encouraging sign to see new opportunities. Furthermore, the combination of decreased prices and attractive housing credits have finally made it possible for many first-time home-buyers to afford a home in the previously financially outrageous areas like Las Vegas, Phoenix and Orange County.

While there are only six states that have experienced increases in sales volume in the past 12 months, most of those positive changes have been very drastic. Arizona has seen a 50% jump, California over 80% and Nevada an impressive 117% increase from 2008. It is typical for many other states to follow real estate market suit within 6 months to a year after California makes a change, for better or for worse. So, depending on where you live, the housing market may be in either a boom or bust cycle- if it's the later, start counting down.