Every decade there seems to be a transfer of wealth, or debt depending the way you look at it, in the form of real estate. In 2008 the San Bernardino area had a total of 24,455 foreclosures, 142 of those where in Helendale, ca. In July 2009, the total foreclosures in San Bernadino County was 3,486. At that rate, the amount of foreclosures will double in 2009. It is a sad situation, you either know someone that is losing there home, or they are losing their job. In July, the total amount of foreclosures in Helendale, according to DQnews.com, was 22. I believe before we see a considerable amount of new housing starts, a good indicator of a thriving economy, we need to get rid of this huge inventory. If you can afford it, now is the time to buy in Silver Lakes. In 2007 the average home price was $305,000 today, just $143,000. Real Estate is generally a long term investment, obviously you have those times when you can flip a house for a short term investment, but over time real estate can reap big returns. I personally was renting in silver lakes and wouldn't you know it, the place I was renting fell into foreclosure. So we decided to start looking for a home to buy in the community. We found a great 3 bdr with a pool for less than we were renting per month. So keep an eye open, you can take advantage of this situation. My 2 cents is that housing bottomed in June 09 and can only go up from here, but just how long will it take to see the highs again, no one knows. As I mentioned before, the average mortgage payment, with a 5.5% interest rate is about the same as renting in some cases. What will it take to recover in the high desert region? Patrick Thatcher from the Daily Press has coverage on the subject. SoCal housing market may be stabilizing

Use these links to find your own home in Silver Lakes, Ca.

Realtor.com

HUD Homes

Trulia.com

Craigslist.com

Statistics aquired from DQnews.com