A “Repo Home Tour” in Stockton

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They are taking buses up in Stockton in hopes of catching falling knives up there -- that is, in hopes of buying foreclosed homes. The LATimes lays out the foreclosure fallout in Stockton, including the bus tour run by Cesar Dias: ‘... the weekly Repo Home Tour, filling two 18-seat buses with prospective buyers eager to view foreclosed houses that can be snapped up at dramatically reduced prices.’

This is one of those stories that reminds you just how crazy the mortgage and housing industry was in this state: ‘Monaliza Botello, a 25-year-old nurse, said she was surprised when her father, who brings in $4,500 a month, last year secured a loan requiring a $4,000 monthly payment. The idea was that Monaliza’s father would own the new $495,000 four-bedroom for a year or two, at which point she and her husband, Isaac, could afford to buy it from him with a refinanced loan. But the three of them, who were all living there, fell behind in their payments, and Monaliza lost her dream home.’

The article focuses in part on buyers snapping up foreclosed houses, and you have to wonder whether bad loans are still being made. These are median home prices for homes sold in San Joaquin County, according to the article:

2000: $133,000
July 2006: $425,000
October 2007: $319,000

Is $319,000 the bottom, or close to it? I wouldn’t take that bet.

Your thoughts? Comments? Email story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com.