There is an article in today's Trib about Southern California September home sales sinking to the lowest level in 20 years. Expect to see a similar article about the SLO market soon. But, if you follow my statistics page (http://www.SloWatch.com), you've known this since September 1st, when I posted the Pending data for August.

That's what I like about tracking Pending Sales. Unless there's a major change and lenders fund in 10-15 days and Buyers skip the inspection period, it will still take 30-45 days to close once a property goes Pending. While some properties do fall out of escrow before they close, tracking Pendings does give a more immediate temperature reading on how the market is doing rather than waiting the 30-45 day cycle to see a Pending show up as a Sold statistic.

If you looked at the data I posted on October 1st, you'll already know what the article will say that's published a month from now.