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SO HOW DOES ONE FIND the best home deals in San Diego County? Strategy, cash, resourcefulness and homework. “It’s important for buyers to get to know a neighborhood, so they recognize a good deal when they see one,” says Janet Libuse, broker associate with RE/Max.

How much a home’s value has fallen has everything to do with its ZIP code. Most of the recent homes sales have been distressed properties, which tend to be concentrated in lower-income areas and places where new development has run rampant. That tends to skew the median prices lower. But in nicer neighborhoods, prices have come down less dramatically.

Meanwhile, in wealthy neighborhoods such as Rancho Santa Fe, “though 2008 showed a drop in the number of sales,” according to Brian Guiltinan of Prudential Ultra Lux Estates, “it saw an increase in sales prices.”

In this climate, La Jolla–based Marti Gellens of Prudential California Realty encourages prospective buyers to simply make offers. “You’re never going to catch the bottom of the market, because by the time you know it’s the bottom, it’s heading back up,” she says. “Right now, because of the amount of inventory, if your home is on the market today it means you’re motivated. So don’t be afraid to step into the market. The people who have their homes on the market do want to sell, but nobody knows what the price is until an offer’s put out.”

Also, paying cash can yield big bargains. “Sellers will be much more willing to accept cash—even if they take a lower price—rather than subject their properties to lowball bank appraisals,” says Rex Downing, of Downing & Associates.

Next, consider buying a house in good condition versus a fixer-upper. “Banks will loan [buyers] more money for it,” says Windsor Capital Mortgage broker Mark Goldman, who also lectures at San Diego State University. “Sometimes, if people are losing a home to foreclosure they’ll take out anything of value. They’ll strip it down before they leave.”

Finally, do your homework. Active-duty servicemen or women may qualify for a Veterans Administration loan, which provides up to 100 percent financing, according to Julie Von Boxtel, a real estate agent with Peter Middleton & Associates. She recently represented a couple who qualified for a V.A. loan that financed their entire $515,000 home in San Marcos. “The loan even closed early,” she says. “The seller paid the closing costs, and the buyers did not have to pay any out-of-pocket expenses.”

So be patient, prepared and creative, and ask the right questions to take full advantage of this current buyer’s market.