As buyers, sellers and economists watch local, state and national figures to try to gain an understanding of the market, everyone is a bit confused, top experts say. Home sales statewide decreased 27.8 percent in April compared with a year ago, even as the statewide median price increased 6.2 percent to $597,640, California Association of Realtors reported.

"The disconnect of rising prices (or prices falling slightly) coupled with declining sales in the 30 percent-plus range locally and around the state continues," said Greg Berkemer, executive vice president of the California Desert Association of Realtors. "(Local, state and national) housing markets are not moving in sync."

The result is many buyers and sellers are simply confused at this point, said Economics & Politics Inc. economist John Husing, who studies the Inland Empire's economy. "They're saying, 'I'm going to wait and see what's going on,'" Husing said. "I think we're involved in about an 18-month pause with an overall median price decline of 5 percent."

The housing market could begin to pick up during the first or second quarter of 2008, economists said. The long-term outlook for housing demand remains strong based on robust population projections for the Inland Empire and Southern California, Husing said. To cope with the current downturn, new-home builders have aggressively managed inventories, trimmed staff and downsized some operations.

Because "buyers have a lot of choices," builders are doing what they can to stand out, from implementing new designs to offering all kinds of incentives and amenities. Tom Noya, principal of Newport Beach-based Bayshore Development Co., which is building the Enclave at Sunrise luxury home development in Palm Springs, embraced intimate cul-de-sacs and chose new design elements, a strategy that's garnered at least one buyer per week as some competitors struggled for a sale or two a month.

Throughout the valley, 892 homes sold in April, and 166 of those were new homes. Builders nationwide, from D.R. Horton to K. Hovnanian to Lennar Corp., have had to report weak financial results compared with brisk sales in 2004 and 2005.

"We are frustrated to report that the housing market has continued to slip further in many (national) locations in terms of both sales pace and sales price," said Ara K. Hovnanian, chief executive officer of K. Hovnanian. The company is building the Four Seasons development in Palm Springs.

One clear indication is reflected in building permits that contractors have taken out. In La Quinta, for instance, 176 single-family home permits were taken out during the first quarter, compared with 377 during the first three months a year ago and 515 in the first quarter of 2005.

Statewide, 7,174 single-family home permits were pulled in April, a 37 percent drop from a year ago, California Building Industry Association reported. Total housing starts fell 24 percent. CBIA Chief Economist Alan Nevin said about half of the state's decline in new-home building is a result of the Riverside/San Bernardino and Sacramento markets.

April also was a month in which inventory hit 9,153 homes valley-wide, then slid back slightly to 9,108 homes by mid-May, the California Desert Association of Realtors reported. That compares with fewer than 1,500 homes for sale during the spring of 2004.

Some positive news is that home sales have steadily increased in recent months, from a little more than 700 in both January and February to 937 in March and 892 in April, DataQuick reported. Across Riverside County, where sales declined 45 percent in April, the median price dropped about 1 percent to $409,000 from $413,000 a year ago, DataQuick reported.

In San Bernardino County, the median price climbed 2.8 percent to $370,000, despite a 46.7 percent drop in sales volume from a year ago. Berkemer said buyers and sellers should work with real estate agents to focus on reaching agreements over prices and terms, not on comparing desert or state numbers last month or last year.