Lori Staehling, president of the San Diego Association of Realtors, said the housing market might be on the road to recovery.
"I think a year from now, you'll remember tonight and you'll go, 'You know what, we'd already gone past the worst of it,'" Staehling said. "When we see the sales number up this significantly, to me, that is the sign."
About 90 people attended the forum at the Escondido Public Library.
Not everybody agreed with the optimism.
Kelly Cunningham, another panelist and economist for the San Diego Institute for Policy Research, said the loss of jobs recently bodes ill for the immediate future of North County housing. However, he also said the long-term prospects for housing are positive based on population growth and the desirability of the area.
Jim Klinge, a real estate agent and blogger, said it is a tough time to buy a house as the Internet has created a remarkable amount of competition among the best houses priced at attractive levels.
On the topic of interest rates, loan officer Dave Hopkins with Rancho Financial said mortgage rates have reached historically low levels and probably will remain depressed as long as the stock market struggles, which makes mortgage bonds better opportunities for investors.
But that was not enough to convince Nandan Das, an engineer looking to a buy a house in Vista or San Marcos, that prices will be increasing any time soon.
"The one thing that I can't get over is the concept that if incomes don't go up, if industries don't come in and they're not hiring more people, where do we expect people to get the money to afford these houses?" Das said. "That, to me, is key to an uptick in prices."
Over the last few years, local incomes have not kept pace with inflation, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
To see more of the North County Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.nctimes.com. Copyright (c) 2008, North County Times, Escondido, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

More News:
Market Updates |
Stock Alerts |
All Trading News |
Stock Index