Pending Sales:

Here we are at the half way point in July, and pending sales are right where they were last month. June 15 2008 saw single family pendings at 2602 units; July 15 shows 2605 pending units. Also noteworthy, single family contingent sales - those in contract but still subject to inspections or financing, were at 3646 on June 30 and they stand at 3723 today.

(Photo: City Center, by Barbara House)
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June produced 2226 closed single family transactions. The number in the books so far in July is only 792, but don’t forget the three day 4th of July weekend in there and that sometimes the Procrastinators Club causes closings get squeezed into the end of the month.
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If we more than 2000 single family transactions in July 2008, we will surpass not only July 2007 (only 1318 closed) but also July 2006 (1996 closed). That would also be better than January 2005, the worst month of the “best” years.
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For me, the next psychological number is 2500 single family closings in a month. When we clear that hurdle, we are doing better than all but the best months during the boom.
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Affordable Housing Increasing:

It is a funny market. We have multiple offers on almost all properties with the lowest price per square foot, roughly under $100/sqft. My unofficial affordability index, single family homes under $150/sq ft has increased slightly to 4950 listings - an increase of 135 affordable homes over last month. Remember these are NON-shortsales in all but 3 ML areas where most of the cheap homes are located (ie, where under $150/ft is not a great deal.) There is a total of 14720 listings including short sales in the same ML areas - a decrease of 55 listings from last month.
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In short, the percentage of homes priced “in the market” has increased slightly since June, and with pending and contingents strong, closed transactions look good for July. And maybe August.
Again, the further below $150/sq ft, the more likely a house is to sell. In this price range, there are plenty of buyers - especially under $120/sq ft. Above $150/sq ft and the house is probably priced out of the market, and it is less likely to sell.
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That is my educated guess. Time will tell.