Dr. Housing Bubble has more data on the Southern California market
… What you are seeing is a market in full blown turmoil. “A” are auctions and “B” are bank owned homes. The entire region is flooded with these properties and you can rest assured 2009 will bring more of these online. Now think for a second what this does to other homeowners in the region. Say you live one block from a bank owned home. You think your home is worth $500,000. Well the bank owned home just sold for $300,000. Guess what? Your home just got a royal drubbing even if you weren’t planning on selling. What does this do to overall consumer psychology? On the most primitive level, I am certain it keeps people from spending as much. On a broader level, it depresses the economy and sentiment (this is being reflected in most economic data coming out).
The chart above has market observations since September of 2007. The intervals are spread out on a weekly basis (typically) and go to the present. The point of the chart isn’t the dates but the overall pattern for over a year. That is, inventory is drastically falling while distress inventory is still very high.
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