Sales up, prices down

September's housing numbers continue the pattern we've seen for some months now. Homes sales are skyrocketing, but only because prices have been plummeting - and much of the action centers on foreclosed properties. In L.A. County, sales were up almost 40 percent from a year earlier, while the median price was $360,000, a 31.4 percent drop from a year earlier. For all of Socal, sales jumped 65 percent, which is just off the charts (all numbers courtesy of Dataquick). Some of the sales spurt is due to extremely weak activity in September 2007. "Steep price declines, especially inland, have improved housing affordability quite a bit and may keep sales levels well above the record lows we saw late last year and early this year," said John Walsh, president of DataQuick. In L.A., 40 percent of all sales were foreclosures (Riverside County was at 69 percent).

SEPTEMBER HOME SALES (% change from September 2007)
Los Angeles 43.9%
Orange 62.3%
Riverside 106.1%
San Bernardino 87.6%
San Diego 56.4%
Ventura 64.6%

SEPTEMBER HOME PRICES (% chance from September 2007)
Los Angeles $360,000 (-31.4%)
Orange $425,000 (-25.4%)
Riverside $237,000 (-36.8%)
San Bernardino $205,000 (-36.9%)
San Diego $328,000 (-30.2%)
Ventura $385,000 (-29.4%)