I can remember as a kid diving into a pool and searching with my hands for the bottom. I always wanted to know when I had hit bottom. It told me I could then shoot up to the surface and get air. I would do that again and again and feel such excitement doing so. There was a sense of security when I knew where the bottom of the pool was. Where I could stand and be able to keep my chin above the water was important to me. The bottom felt solid. I could only go up from there. So it is true with real estate. We all want to know when we have reached the bottom of the deckling real estate market. It will not be announced on the evening news. CNN will not put a flash on the bottom of your TV screen or send it to you via email. You will know when the real estate market has hit bottom 6 months after it has happened. Prices will start slowly returning to the surface. We are getting a hint that here in the Twin Cities that bottom might be reached in 6+ months. What tells me this is what is happening in Sacramento, Calif and Las Vegas, Nevada. These two cities were where the market first dropped and dropped and dropped. Some neighborhoods in these cities only have foreclosed properties. We are seeing sales in these towns and the prices are rising ever so slowly. The Midwest will take many months to feel that recovery spread here. The other thing we need to remember is that for the sleepy Midwest the Twin Cities had property values rise quickly and to new heights. That means it will be a slow and longer recovery for us. We are not at the bottom yet, but our area should be ready to see the bottom come soon. We need to reach out with our hands and feel for that bottom. One must remember if you know you have reached the bottom of real estate, you are 6 months late and already paying rising prices.
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