The top 10 real estate websites for September, 2008, based on visits, according to Hitwise:

1. Realtor.com

2. Yahoo Real Estate

3. Zillow

4. ZipRealty

5. Rent.com

6. RE/MAX Real Estate

7. ServiceMagic

8. Coldwell Banker Real Estate

9. US Dept of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

10. HomeGain

The top 20 Real Estate sites in July 2008 show that Realtor.com still holds a strong #1 position. Realtor.com has feeds from virtually every MLS in the nation and is a good way to see what is available in any area of the US.
Quickly moving up the charts is zillow.com holding the #3 spot in July.
I like zillow.com for a few reasons. It is easy to navigate, you can look up information and maybe find photos of a specific address, there is sold information along with listings that are accurately mapped.
There is the “Zestimate”- which at first was horridly skewed when the beta site first went on-line, but is getting a little closer to reality IF you are looking at a normal conforming home in a typical subdivision with a reasonable amount of sales activity in the area.
For those properties that are atypical (rural, specialty/luxury homes and manufactured homes on land), there is a lack of accuracy that makes me cringe. It is always best to get a price opinion from a Real Estate Broker or an appraiser before putting your home on the market. However Zillow will give you a good idea of the market trends in your neighborhood.

59% of polled economists say there is no national housing bubble, only significant local bubbles. Another 8% say there’s no bubble at all and that the market is functioning correctly.
There are some local bubbles where there were hundreds and thousands of development parcels and homes developed and built in anticipation of future sales and the sales that were feeding that demand was investor speculation.
In late 2005 and through 2006 the investors realized that the boom was being fed by their own demand so withdrew. This left tremendous inventory in some cities or areas of cities.
Unfortunately, in 2006 this was immediately followed by the secondary market lenders realizing that they had allowed a foolish combination of underwriting standards for the previous five years or so. They were buying loans that allowed buyers to have both, little or no down payment and marginal credit.
The result was in some communities around the country, many of these mortgages were used to purchase homes. That created additional pockets of excess inventory which stalled prices in those areas.
Most of the country is experiencing a normal buyer’s market that normally follows a long healthy seller’s market.
The market is functioning correctly.
In 1986 after about three years of a soft buyer’s market not unlike what we are experiencing now (although it was driven by different causes) there was a long strong period of a healthy seller’s market with steady appreciation.
There was a short term softer buyer’s market around the Gulf War in 1991 (although not caused by it) followed by over a decade of a healthy buyers market that lasted until 2006.
If we learn from history: strong seller’s markets last longer than softer buyer’s markets.
REALTORs® all learned in their first Real Estate class that the market is driven by supply and demand.
So as long as there is an increasing population of people with reasonable or better incomes, the demand will keep the market healthy.

Most Homeowners who purchased properties with 10% or less down and anytime after 2004 are probably upside down at this time. The amount of Foreclosures across the country may not subside for quite some time. Lenders DO NOT want all of these properties back. It is typically in the best interest of the Homeowner and the Lender to negotiate the Short Pay Sale and keep the property out of the REO department.

I was just researching sales in Jackson County and Medford in particular. 

For the past six months, we have averaged about 150 residential sales per month in the county.

In Medford, there were 73 homes sold in July with an average sales price of $229,000.

If you have been considering purchasing a new home to live in or as an investment, there are some great deals out there. Here are just a few:

3 bed 2 bath built in 2004 in Central Point $209,900

4 bed 4 1/2 bath (perfect for adult foster care) in East Medford $310,000

 3 bed 2 bath built in 2005 in Central Point $199,900