The Poway real estate market is heavily dependent on the larger trends of the San Diego county real estate market. The trend for this general area has been largely positive in recent months, according to an April 16, 2010 article in the Los Angeles Times. This article found that “A decline in the number of foreclosures and the comeback of higher-priced coastal areas drive the increase…The median price paid for a California home in March jumped 14.3% compared with the same month last year, reflecting a reduction in the number of foreclosure properties on the market and the comeback of higher-priced coastal areas.” The piece continued to note, written by Alejandro Lazo, continued to find that “Statewide, the median price paid for a home in March was $255,000, up from $223,000 in March 2009. It was the fifth consecutive year-over-year increase after 27 months of declines.”

An especially encouraging sign for Poway homes for sale was a decreasing number of foreclosures, according to an April 23, 2010 article in the Valley News. According to this piece, “The number of Riverside County homes slipping toward foreclosures dropped by 49.9 percent in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2009, a real estate information service reported Tuesday.” This article continued to note that “Lenders sent default notices to 8,474 homeowners in Riverside County in the first quarter, down from the previous year’s first-quarter total of 16,906, according to La Jolla-based MDA DataQuick. Meanwhile, the number of San Diego County homes slipping toward foreclosure dropped by 39 percent in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2009.”

However, there may be trouble on the horizon for Poway real estate, as a major lending crisis may be on the horizon for the region. According to an April 13, 2010 article in the North County Times, “Bank of America, the nation’s largest mortgage lender, ramped up its foreclosure activity in March, sending hundreds of letters warning delinquent borrowers in the region that it could sell their homes at auction in as little as three weeks, according to North County Times analysis of data from ForeclosureRadar. The bank said the increased activity was a natural consequence of borrowers running out of options.”

The Dana Point real estate market seems to be heading towards a recovery, according to the most recent market indicators. According to an April 14, 2010 article in the Los Angeles Times, “Southern California’s housing market showed fresh signs of momentum in March with the median price and sales pace improving from the same month a year earlier as buyers hurried to take advantage of a soon-to-expire federal tax incentive, cheap prices and low interest rates.” The piece, composed by Alejandro Lazo, continued to state that “The median price paid for new and previously occupied houses and condominiums in Southern California jumped 14% in March to $285,000 from the same month a year earlier, according to San Diego real estate research firm MDA DataQuick.”

The volume of Dana Point and Southern California home sales was especially noteworthy, according to an April 13, 2010 article in DQ News. This piece found that “Home sales and prices continued their steady but pokey climb up from the bottom in Southern California last month as buyers scrambled to take advantage of low prices and low mortgage rates. The market is still tilted toward low-cost distress sales, but not by as much as previously, a real estate information service reported.” The article, which was released on TheStreet.com, continued to report that “A total of 20,476 new and resale homes sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino, and Orange counties last month. That was up 33.3% from 15,359 in February, and up 5.0% from 19,506 in March 2009, according to MDA DataQuick. The San Diego firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.”

This same general good news for Dana Point real estate was reported by Kristen Schott in the OC Metro on April 13, 2010. Her article found that “Orange County’s median home price shot up 12.2 percent in March, compared to the same time last year, according to a new report released by DataQuick. The number hit $432,000 in the period, up from $385,000 at the same time last year. The price also increased over February, when the region’s median came in at $417,000.”

Real estate experts have seen promising signs for Southern California and Newport Beach real estate.  Over the past few months, the Southern California region has posted increases in both its home sales and median sales prices.  Despite real estate struggles that began in 2007, prior to the economic recession of 2008, which only worsened the situation, Southern California has provided real estate experts with optimistic views of the future.  Many experts believe that the greater affordability of housing in the region, as well as favorable interest rates, the decline of the inventory of foreclosed properties, and the federal tax credit will play major roles in the recovery of the Newport Beach real estate market during the 2010 year.

According to DQNews.com, Southern California has posted significant improvements in the region’s real estate markets with an increase in both the number of houses and condos sold and the median sales price.  In December of 2009, a total of 22,328 new and resale houses and condos were sold in Southern California, a 16.4 percent increase from that of the previous year, and a 12.1 percent from that of the previous year.  December marked the 18^th consecutive month in which Southern maintained a year-over-year gain in terms of home sales.  December also marked the first month with year-over-year gains in the median sales price.  In December, the median sales price for houses and condos in Southern California was $289,00, a 1.4 percent increase from $285,000 in November and a 4 percent increase from $278,000 a year earlier.

The Los Angeles Times has also reported on the recent improvements made to the Southern California real estate market.  The LA Times reported that very favorable interest rates and more affordable housing played a major role in the recent increases in real estate activity and median sales prices.  The rebounding home prices is expected to lead the recovery of the housing market as construction and development projects are also increased to satisfy the increasing demand for housing in the Southern California region.  Real estate experts also believe that the federal tax credit will spur real estate activity as the deadline approaches in the spring.