Having been overseas 2005-2007, and now living in Denver, I have used several approaches to track SD and Ventura RE from afar. Here is my 2 cents.
realtor.com, ziprealty.com (# of listings within a given price range/area). I know they don’t provide all listings for the general public, but I think it’s the trend that counts. From what I can see, there has been about a doubling of the number of houses (600-900K range) on the market in the North County area since 9/07.
Zillow (valuations for 12 “Favorite Homes” are tracked over time. In absolute terms, this might not be all that useful, but I follow the peak/current price trend). I was wondering if you (as local observers) corroborate that Zillow relative valuation pretty much mirrors the situation on the ground, especially for a given property. Also, does anyone know how often Zillow (peridically) updates their zestimates.
Uhaul truck rental prices (to/from SD to various other parts of the country) – has been about 3.3:1 ratio to move out of SD (vs. move to) for the last 2 years. I guess if that ratio moves higher for a sustained period, it might be a somewhat useful indicator.
