You are correct. House prices are a small part of that decrease - after all, when somebody leaves the house, doesn't somebody else move in?
It is illegal immigration and Southern California's slow drift into Third World status that is driving everyone out.
But don't get too smug in the rest of America - those illegals are coming your way too.
Tienes que apprender espanol.
Many houses remain vacant will being listed for sale, or for other reasons.
Ya sé español : )
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.. and who cares, anyway, right?
Let me give you a practical case of WHY folks in "God's Country" (ya know, the red states?) need to be concerned about Mexico's "operation reconquistador", coming soon to every state in the union.
My daughter just spent two weeks in the hospital, and is still home in her second week of convalescence. Reason: Burst appendix.
Now, this was a complicated case. Diagnosis WAS difficult. I probably DID make a mistake of not taking her directly into the local ER (i.e. called her physician, typical symptom's of appendicitis did not "present", waited 4-5 more hours, took her to urgent care, they referred to ER, and etc.).
We arrived at ER on a Sunday, at about 2:30 PM. She was on the operating table at 11:00 PM. Why the delay?
Lots of reasons, but as must on the Western US realize, the local ER has become the "primary care" physician for illegal aliens. They cannot refuse service. There is no government agency to fund the care they provide, including expensive, long-term care (Medicare/medicaid sometimes applies). The bottom line is that ANY time we need to go to an ER, we can expect a 8 to 12 hour wait unless "life threatening systems" present. My daughter was in pain for over 24 hours with appendicitis, and spent the last 8 hours waiting for access to a physician and tests in ER, and her necrotic appendix burst. Three days after the first surgery, internal abscesses (infections) developed, and she had a second operation to clean up after the first. For the next nine days, she endured symptoms from nausea and discomfort to desperate pain. The nursing care was atrocious. And as I said, she's still home, now with a post-hospital virus (flu) because she lost so much weight and her immune system is so worn down from heavy doses of antibiotics.
Most of the battle was lost while my daughter waited in ER. However, the lack of treatment in ER and subsequent mistreatment by nursing was caused, in my opinion, by an understaffed and under funded hospital. Another example: When the surgeon briefed me after her first surgery, I was sitting next to three Hispanic folks from Mexico, who were waiting on a brother (I believe - my Spanish is weak). He was treated in Mexico a month before due to a leg injury, insufficient antibiotics were prescribed (or if prescribed, not taken), and after he migrated to North San Diego County, he developed severe symptoms of gangrene. The physician said he almost lost his life, had extensive surgery on his leg, but would probably not lose it. And of course, there would be months of hospital rehabilitation. My insurance paid over $150,000 for my daughter's care (we haven't seen all the bills yet, but yeah, $150K so far for appendicitis). That's probably $125K higher than it should have been with prompt, proper treatment, and of course, this will be absorbed by the insurance company and then charged back to the insured through higher premiums. But the Mexican gentleman's care? Will his country pick up the tab (i.e. the same country which sues American ranchers off their property in behalf of illegal, invading immigrants)? No, our local hospital just took another $1 million+ hit, which of course, will impact hopital and ER staffing.
I care very deeply about the poor, and the poor on the other side of the border. I NEVER look at illegal-alien-Mexican's wandering our streets with disdain or hate. But I'm also realistic about the cost; I only have to look in my daughter's bedroom to see it first hand.
I probably should have started a "vanity" thread to discuss this stuff, but ....
.. it's also a reason I'm getting to h*ll out of California.
SFS