A real estate tracking firm said Thursday that in spite of efforts by government, lenders and others to help strapped homeowners with mortgage payments, foreclosures have continued to rise in California, particularly in inland counties with metro areas such as Stockton, Merced, Riverside, San Bernardino and Modesto. The median home price has been dragged down by 34 percent last month from what it was a year ago, as homebuyers in California kept snatching up foreclosed homes.

According to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick, the statewide median home price plunged to $278,000 in October, compared with $424,000 in the year-ago period. DataQuick added that while about half the drop in the median price was due to depreciation, the other half came from a shift in sales toward distressed homes and the way those homes are financed.

Statewide home sales jumped nearly 5 percent from September, which indicates a 64 percent from a year ago to 42,293. DataQuick, which has kept the statistics since
1988, October's sales were the strongest since December 2006, when 43,431 homes were sold. This means the worsening US economy is not dissuading buyers with bargain home prices in their sights!

Commenting on the situation, John Walsh, MDA DataQuick's president, said in a statement: "What happens next to housing will be determined by the fate of the economy, and especially the job market, as well as the outcome of recently announced efforts to curb foreclosures."