One other thing that can misleadingly depress REO prices is the number of partially complete houses in this area.

It is also a border state and enjoys strong immigration, although this latter factor may be depressed a bit due to some recent laws.

Now, I had no clue it was going to bring down the world financial markets as it did.Currently, I'm reading The Big Short by Michael Lewis - it is a fascinating look at how the mortgage mess went down.I say all that to say - I think you could be in line for some big time gains in depressed areas like Southern Cal because they are way over sold.

We have a strong Section 8 demand in a somewhat depressed section of the city.

Do people in these depressed areas really have that kind of money?

I can tell you that I used to buy tons of properties in depressed areas where everyone in that area seemed broke.

I figure whether you buy or rent, youre going to be paying money to live somewhere for your whole life, so I might as well buy when the market is depressed.

If its at 90k now in this depressed market, 120k, might be reasonable.Thats actually a good deal to me.

The banks are holding properties to try and control an already depressed market.

The economy will not be depressed forever so now is the time to buy and you might like this scenario so well that you keep doing it!