Here in Nevada County, while there were almost the same amount of sales in April of this year compared to last year, the pending sales are way up. Potential buyers in areas that were hard hit by the housing downturn have read about bargains; only find it disappointing when they go shopping.

But in Southern California, housing is hopping:

According to an article in the Los Angeles Times:

“House hunters are trying to pounce on deals from sellers they expected to be frantic — if not curled in the fetal position. What they’re finding instead are bidding wars as low interest rates and pent-up demand in traditionally stable or chic areas have kept prices up — not as high as the market’s peak, but not nearly as low as they had hoped.

Bank-owned or not, the cheaper properties are dominating the sellers’ block in the notoriously expensive L.A. County real estate market. In March, 2,871 homes under $300,000 were sold compared with only 734 a year earlier, according to real estate information firm MDA DataQuick.

When the real estate bubble burst, it didn’t affect the mid-priced market, said real estate information firm MDA DataQuick. Instead, it created opportunities in troubled neighborhoods and slowed sales in the market of homes priced above $1 million. But in areas where most of the homes sell for $400,000 to $800,000, there are few discounts to be found.

Even the foreclosure market has slowed, says University of Southern California Professor of Real Estate Tracey Seslen. Seslen said lenders with foreclosures are supporting market stabilization and releasing only a few homes at a time to avoid flooding the markets.”

Like I said, if you wait to buy at the bottom of the real estate market, you’ll find that the bottom pasted you by a long time ago.