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I came across an interesting article by OC Resister writer Jonathan Lansner  who reported that van moves into CA by the 3 big van lines, Atlas, United, and Allied were up in 2010, an increase of 8%, vs. 2009. This flies in the face of all the other data I have read about CA migration until you get to his last paragraph that says "This class of mover to California didn't stem an overall out migration. The 2,946 extra inbound van moves in 2010 weren't enough to stop California from losing 72,000 folks to other states last year. However, that out migration was an improvement from 113,000 lost in 2009, according to state Department of Finance data".

How does this relate to housing data? Apparently, according to Lansner, families that move by van lines, are usually managerial type employees, who tend to be home buyers. Personally, I believe that managerial type people are slightly more market savvy, and will probably not buy until the market becomes a little more predictable, so in effect I feel this whole concept is a wash, but nice try Jonathan, it sounded good at first.

2011 offers an interesting twist on this trend because of the huge CA budget crisis which dwarfs similar budget problems in other states. Hold on folks, the ride in 2011 appears to be at the very least, interesting, if not bruising and bumpy.