Foreclosures take toll in Lincoln, nation

That is the question many potential homeowners face as San Diego County continues to trudge through a housing depression that leaves them wondering how much further home prices will fall.Industry insiders and academic analysts agree the answer depends on who is doing the asking. For families, most Realtors and real estate professors concur that those looking at a house as a home should start shopping now.

Historically low interest rates and falling median prices mean the average mortgage payment in San Diego County was about $450 a month less in December than in July ---- an 18 percent decline to $2,127 per month, according to prices from DataQuick and interest rates from the Federal Housing Finance Board.

But for those looking at a house as an investment to sell for a profit a few years later rather than a home to live in for 10 years or more, opinions differ wildly on when home prices will stop depreciating."I think we've already seen the bottom," said Susan Anderson, manager of a Coldwell Banker office in Vista, basing her opinion on an uptick in the number of buyers looking for homes. read more