Despite the broader housing market is far from reaching bottom and prices are likely to keep falling into 2010, tentative signs of recovery are observed in hard-hit areas like California and Florida. In inland areas of California, for instance, sales are surging now that prices have fallen sharply. But most of the sellers are not individuals but rather banks that foreclosed on homeowners who could not or would not pay their mortgages. In January, home sales in the state jumped by 54 percent from January 2008, but about 60 percent of the previously owned homes sold had recently been in foreclosure, according to DataQuick, a publisher of real estate information.
In cities like New York and San Francisco the market is largely frozen. Prices are down as much as 50 percent from a few years ago, and many properties are getting multiple bids, said Carlos Kozlowski, a real estate agent from San Francisco.
based on article of VIKAS BAJAJ, http://www.nytimes.com
Tags: AMSI, California, foreclosures, Market, Real Estate, Sales, San Francisco
