Long, tough climb for California home prices

The January numbers were pretty bad for L.A. County and most of Socal, according to Dataquick. But looking at the big picture - that is, going back the last decade or so - the rise and fall of the state housing market is nothing short of dizzying. As reported by the California Association of Realtors:

--Median price (top): $594,530 in May, 2007.

--Median price (bottom): $245,230 in February 2009

--Latest median price (January 2011): $278,900

The percentage drop from top to bottom totaled 59 percent! Now remember, these are statewide percentages, and some areas fared a lot better than others. But by any measure, the numbers are stunning. So what about 2011? CAR economists expect sales and prices to increase by 2 percent, which is certainly not wonderful. As a rule, housing recessions take many years to fully recover, and this downturn was a lot worse than most.