[quote=paramount]As much as I want to be; I’m not convinced yet the economy is actually improving (significantly) – at least in my time frame..

What I see is continuing falling home prices, still brutal numbers of foreclosures and short sales – which are killing home prices at least in Temecula.

Is it better than 2008/2009? Maybe; prices of homes aren’t falling as fast, but they’re still falling.

The layoff situation has improved.

But year over year (2011->2012), I’m not really seeing it.[/quote]

paramount, you must be living in a different town than I am. The home price is still higher than 2008-2009 although it starts to have some competitive pricing. But there are lots of traffic for any home that is competitively priced. Inventory for investment-grade home is almost non-existent. Multiple offers above the list price is common for other homes.

New homes are also selling but I don’t know how it compared to before because I am never interested in that category. But construction is happening. At Home Depot and Lowes, however, I have yet to see any significant traffic increase.

The steakhouses in Temecula now has very long lines over the weekend. The line used to be non-existent in the last few years (the long lines were common in bubble years as well). I don’t know what caused it, but it seems that people just become very bullish about the economy in the last few months. My neighbor (who I suspect is not paying their mortgage) just bought a new car. And dealership would not negotiate or price-match on price anymore (2 years ago, when I bought my last car, they are very cooperative in pricing). 3 years ago, they were making insane price cuts to get off their inventory.