Home sales in California jumped nearly 27 percent from March to April as bargain hunters found it easier to get loans and pick up property on the cheap.

SAN DIEGO - Home sales surged 22 percent in Southern California in April compared with March, as bargain-hunters bought lower-end homes in areas hardest hit by foreclosures, a research firm said Monday.

SAN DIEGO - Home sales surged 22 percent in April in Southern California as bargain-hunters bought lower-end homes in areas hardest hit by foreclosures, a research firm said today.

Video on the Manteca housing auction MANTECA - A red banner stretches across the block wall encircling Paseo West, beckoning bargain hunters into the brand new subdivision a 90-minute commute from Silicon Valley: "Anderson Homes AUCTION, 34 New Luxury Homes MINIMUM BIDS from $285,000.

Many firms' shares have fallen with the housing market. Some say the sector is ripe for bargain hunters; others say wait. Like other Southern Californians, John Bollinger has witnessed the brutal downturn in the housing market.