Finally some positive numbers on the home sales front.  September home sales in Southern California were up 65% year over year in September.  The big news within those numbers though is that over half of the sales were on foreclosure properties. 

In places like Southern California, where job growth is still stable, people are starting to recognize the current slump as a major bargain buying opportunity.  Now the real test is to see if these sales numbers hold up and start to put a bottom in place on prices.  October could be challenging as it will be the first month to fully factor in the recent credit market woes. 

More reading:

Bloomberg's take on Southern California's September home sales numbers