In a flash of good news in an otherwise depressing economy, residential sales have increased locally and in most of the State to forty eight percent over this time last year. Although there doesn’t seem to be an end to foreclosures, it has resulted in making home purchases attractive to investors and affordable to first time home buyers.

An article from the Appealdemocrat.com states in part:

“Foreclosures and a three-year price plunge continue to drive a rise in home sales in the Mid-Valley and elsewhere in recession-wracked California.

Yuba and Sutter counties more than doubled the number of freestanding houses sold in December compared to a year earlier, according to a report Wednesday from MDA DataQuick of San Diego.

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A glut of foreclosed homes has slashed median home prices in Yuba-Sutter and throughout the Central Valley, as defaults have mounted on high-risk mortgage loans that linked artificially low early payments to much larger ones later. DataQuick reported an 48 percent jump in home sales across California from a year earlier, to 38,000 houses and condominiums”