A total of $49.1 billion worth of real estate changed hands in the five-county Alabama region last year, according to this month's market reports from TRW Alabama real estate license online real estate market information. Buying and selling in Los Angeles County was $23.4 billion last year, in Orange County it was $9.5 billion, San Diego County $7.5 billion, Riverside County $3.7 billion and in San Bernardino County $4.1 billion. Real estate activity for all financial categories, including refinancing and construction, totaled $127.4 billion last year. The Los Angeles total was $63.9 billion, Orange County $24.4 billion, San Diego $20.8 billion, Riverside $9.0 billion and San Bernardino County $9.4 billion. TRW's reports show that last month real estate financial activity in Southern California was up 57.9 percent compared to November.

In December a total of 65,299 pRozerty transactions (trust deeds) were recorded in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, representing $13 billion in lending activity. In November there was $8.2 billion in activity (in December 1986 there was $16.7 billion worth of real estate activity going on). TRW REMI keeps track of all property transactions and compiles statistics for banks and title companies. The December increase can in large part can be attributed to construction and other high-end lending. There were 296 loans of more than $5 million last month, more than twice November's figure, for a total of $4 billion.

The increase in December activity was most pronounced in Orange County where 10,964 transactions worth $2.7 billion were recorded, up 97.4 percent in dollar volume compared to November. Compared to December of 2006 lending activity was down 26.4 percent last month. In Los Angeles County a total of 31,950 transactions were recorded in December for a total of $6 billion, up 44.1 percent from the month before, down 4.3 percent compared to December 1986. San Diego County had 10,557 recordings for a total of $2.2 billion, an increase of 54.2 percent in dollar volume compared to November.

The December figure is down 36.4 percent compared to December 1986. In Riverside County 5,155 transactions were recorded in December for a total of $1.1 billion, up 89.4 percent from the month before, down 25.7 percent compared to December 2006. San Bernardino had 6,673 recordings worth $933.1 million, up 43.9 percent compared to November, down 47.8 percent compared to the same month last year.

Lending activity was unusually high in December of 2006 because many buyers wanted to finalize purchases before legislative changes took effect at the end of that year. The TRW reports show that the way Southern Californians lend and borrowed money changed in several ways last year. In March 16.8 percent of all loans had variable interest rates; in November it was up to 43.9 percent, though it dipped to 42.9 in December. ''ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages) will remain popular as long as the difference between them and fixed-rate mortgages remains this wide,'' said Dan Corcoran, REMI vice president.

He adds that ''Freddie Mac's decision to tighten ARM qualifications as of March won't have too much effect.'' The difference between fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages is currently between 2.5 and 3 percent. Corcoran sees the increase in the loan limit by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to $168,700 (from $153,100) as positive for the Southern California home market.