The problems of the California Real Estate market are affecting the real estate markets of the entire country.  Something needs to be done about it!  So I'm going to try to help start the recovery by pointing out the good news.

Attn. California agents;  Are you seeing an increase in Buyer Activity since President Bush signed the Housing Bill at the end of July??  I'd love to hear about it!!  Please comment about it, blog about it, and most importantly tell your customers about it!  A grassroots marketing campaign to get the market rolling again can make a huge difference!

For this blog, I'm going to talk about the bad news, then I'll point out the GOOD news.  - Yes, there is GOOD news in California Real Estate!

We can't ignore the bad news end expect to have credibility when talking about the good news.  So, here's the bad news of California...

• Of the 50 States, California was the worst performing state for the Percent Change in house prices for the 4 Quarter period ending June 30, 2008.  The market price of homes fell 15.8% over the last 4 quarters.
• Of the 292 Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Divisions measured by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, 12 or the 20 worst performing areas were in California, including ALL of the bottom 6.
• Home prices in both Merced and Stockton California fell over 30% in the last 4 quarters.

Wow, that part sucked!  There are a lot of people that have been hurt by this year's market.  My parents live in California, so do my Grandparents, so do my Cousins, so do many of my friends.  I was born and raised there.  I care a lot about California and the people there!

Enough of the doom and gloom.  Here's the good news!

EVERY Market in California had prices rise in California over the last 5 years.  Real Estate is not stock.  You don't buy and sell it on a daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly basis... It is a long term investment!

• Los Angeles, one of the largest markets in the Country has Still had a 63.12% price increase over the last 5 years.
• Merced and Stockton, the 2 hardest hit markets in the Country still have gained value over the last 5 years.

Do you think California is going to stay down forever?  The draw of California, its people, its natural beauty, its educational system, its agricultural and manufacturing base, the Silicon Valley, the Napa Wine Country, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, etc...  Ha, California's real estate market will come back strong, and soon!  It wouldn't surprise me if California goes from worst to first in a year or two.

Yesterday, I wrote a blog about the fact that there is good news about Florida's Real Estate Market.

California Agents, please speak-up!!