SD home sales best in 7 years

San Diego County housing prices rose 13.7 percent over the last year to $358,000 as sales soared to their best November in seven years, DataQuick reported Wednesday.

It was the highest overall price since July 2008 as the market was skidding down and posted in March 2003 as prices were rocketing up.

In brief, overall prices were 30.8 percent off the November 2005 peak but have risen 27.9 percent since the January 2009 

Even Riverside up 3.6 percent from October and 10.5 percent from November 2011.

"Investor activity and cash purchases remain unusually high," 

"All signals are pretty favorable for next year to continue the recent pace," 

As of Dec. 5, there were 4,636 homes for sale on the local multiple listing service. That was down 50.2 percent from December 2011's active listing total of 9,303. The current low inventory level is comparable to the go-go days of spring 2004.

In La Jolla, Agents are cold-calling homeowners with offers from clients who have picked out a house they like because the inventory is so low.

"I just don't know why all of sudden, The market hasn't gone up that much, but it's enough for some people to see a little bit of profit in the sale."

The overall Southern California trends mirrored San Diego's, with sales up 14.2 percent to 19,285 and median prices up 16.7 percent to $321,000 in the six-county region.

Of particular interest is where prices were rising, regionally and locally.

看英文比较慢对不对， 你就记住一句话， 复苏开始了。 进场吧！

Real estate: Find opportunity next year

Source: CNN Money

After five years of tumult, order and opportunity are finally being restored to the housing market.

"Housing is finally turning the corner," Stiff says. "There is no reason to be fearful of further large price declines."

This creates a new playing field for homeowners, who are finally able to sell, as well as would-be buyers who've been delaying a purchase in anticipation that prices would keep falling.

The Mortgage Bankers Association forecasts that more and more house hunters will start coming off the sidelines, with new-home loans for purchases expected to jump 55%, based in dollars, in 2013.

With that increased competition, "the days of buyers sticking it to sellers are over," says Salt Lake City real estate agent Tracie Peay.

Sellers: Don't get too excited just yet. You don't have a viselike grip on this market either. Indeed, for many, it still makes sense to wait to get better prices. This is especially true if you know that you won't be able to break even on your investment by unloading your house now, once you factor in the sales commission and other costs.

That said, don't assume that prices will be off to the races again in a year or two.

Fiserv forecasts that between now and 2017, homes will gain 3.3% a year in value. That's hardly red-hot. But at least the market isn't frozen anymore.

Water Damage 的防范

Water Damage 通常是主要的维修开支。令人头痛的是，当你发现有水渍的时候，通常破坏已经造成(it's too late)。在室内，只要有水的地方就有 Water Damage 的可能。下面一些小经验希望有参考作用。

盥洗盆(Sink)

厨房和洗手间的盥洗盆下面通常是木做的 Cabinet。如果滴水又没及时发现，日子长了，木就会霉烂掉。建议在 Cabinet 里铺上防水的 Liner Sheet。既防水又易清洁。定时检查 Cabinet 里头是否有水渍。

热水器(Water Heater)

热水器通常是安装在车库(Garage)或者阁楼(Attic)。如果安装在阁楼，一定要有滴水盘(Drip Pan)。热水器上了年纪就会漏水，这是免不了的。Drip Pan 的作用就是接住这些漏水，然后排出室外。建议定期检查 Drip Pan 看是否有水渍。也可以留意室外的排水管。我就是发现室外的排水管(PVC管)哗哗的流水，才知道热水器漏水了。

空调(Air Conditioner)

空调通常是安装在阁楼(Attic)。同样，空调有滴水盘(Drip Pan)。正常情况下，Drip Pan 应该是干燥的。如果 Drip Pan 有水，那就是空调的主排水管堵了。要马上修理。通常修理的办法是用压缩空气（像开香槟瓶），把水管中的残积物喷出。主排水管的出口通常是在洗手间的盥洗盆下的排水管。

屋顶(Roof)

屋顶的漏水通常比较难发现。因为通常是雨天漏，漏得也不多（否则天花板也可以看到水渍）。漏进来的水通常天晴后一、两天就挥发得无影无踪。建议在下大雨的时候到 Attic 去看看。如果有漏，要及时修补。

浴室(Shower)

要留意浴室的瓷砖是否有膨胀（鼓起）。膨胀通常是入水的迹象。通常是由于龙头开关或者排水管的密封圈老化造成的。

屋檐导水槽(Gutter)

Gutter 在室外，通常不会造成很大的 Water Damage。但如果 Gutter 被树叶等杂物堵塞，水就排不去了。积水增加了 Gutter 的重量，时间长了会对 Gutter 造成损坏。而且，水不能沿 Gutter 排下，就只能像瀑布一样“飞流直下”，造成屋檐下的泥土流失。建议定期清除 Gutter 的树叶、杂物。也可以考虑给 Gutter 加盖子。