Those sharks circling… do they look familiar? Does your friend, co-worker or neighbor ring a bell? If they do, you may not want to answer the door.

A report issued this week shows that renters and homeowners looking to trade up are among those most interested in purchasing foreclosures. That means it’s not just the banks and money-hungry investors who want your home if you are a foreclosure victim. A survey from Trulia and RealtyTrac shows that “there is strong interest in certain segments, including real estate investors, current homeowners looking to ‘trade up’ to a larger property and renters.”

However, the online survey conducted in early November “showed a notable decrease in consumers’ willingness to buy foreclosed properties,” with 43% of adults indicating they are at least somewhat likely to consider purchasing a foreclosed home in the future, compared with the 55% surveyed in May.

According to the survey, nearly one in four people are at least “somewhat likely” to purchase a second home or investment property. Of that quarter, 92% are at least somewhat likely to buy a foreclosed property.

Thanks to the expanded housing tax credit, which includes a new $6,500 credit available to current homeowners looking to purchase a new home or trade up, interest levels in purchasing foreclosed properties will likely increase during the next several months, the report states. The report also shows that 24% of homeowners are at least “somewhat likely to trade up” to a larger home. And nearly 90% of those folks are somewhat likely to consider a foreclosed property, according to the survey.

Even those relegated to the realm of being renters can be counted among those looking for the deal that buying a foreclosure promises. Nearly two-thirds of respondents who are renters said they are “at least somewhat likely” to purchase a distressed home in the future. The report also shows that 61% of renters ages 18-34 and 65% of renters between the ages of 35-44 are at least somewhat likely to consider purchasing a foreclosure.

“Even during the darkest economic times, dreams don’t die. Foreclosures are providing never before seen opportunities for new segments of homebuyers and allowing renters to become first time buyers, allowing investors to grab great deals and allowing families to trade up to larger homes,” Trulia co-founder and CEO Pete Flint said in a statement. “Until unemployment levels off and starts to get better, we expect foreclosures to continue to play a big role in the 2010 housing market.”

On a brighter note…

A report issued Tuesday by MDA DataQuick shows Southern California’s housing market continued to improve as both sales and prices recorded gains in November.

More than 19,000 homes were sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. While that was down 13.3% from October’s number, a dip that’s normal between those two months, it was up 14.7% from 16,720 homes sold in November 2008, the report shows. Sales were still off pace with the historical average.

Long Beach ZIP codes varied in performance in data available for the most recent month, October, according to DataQuick. The 90813 area saw prices drop more than 30% year over year to a median of $175,000 and the 90802 area dropped nearly 30% to just under $250,000. Less affordable areas seemed to fare a bit better. The 90803 area rose 10% to a median of just over $1 million and the 90814 area rose just over 5% to $655,000.

“This market is still really lopsided. Foreclosures and short sales are huge factors. There’s still not a lot of discretionary buying and selling outside the more affordable markets. Anybody who can sit tight is doing just that. The market won’t fully rebalance itself until financing becomes available for the higher price ranges,” John Walsh, MDA DataQuick president, said in a statement.

Foreclosure resales made up just over 39% of all Southland resales, the lowest ratio since May 2008 and far from a high of 56.7% last February.

The median home price in Southern California was $285,000 in November, up 1.8% from $280,000 in October and equal to November 2008. Last month was the first since September 2007 that did not see a year-over-year decline in the median, the DataQuick report shows. For a reminder of how hot things got please note that last month’s median was 43.6% below the peak SoCal’s peak median of $505,000 in the first half of 2007.

Now you tell me readers.

The Federal Reserve pledged Wednesday to hold interest rates at a record low to drive down double-digit unemployment and sustain the economic recovery. The Fed kept its target range for its bank lending at zero to 0.25%, where has been since last December, according to a story in the San Francisco Chronicle. The Fed restated its pledge to keep rates at “exceptionally low levels” for an extended period.

I’m asking readers to comment below or e-mail me at don@lbpost.com with your thoughts on this action and what it means for Long Beach’s real estate market. As usual, I will print some of your answers in the next column.