After reading over my blog on Feb 8th 2008 we are almost a year to the day and I had stated by Spring of 2009 we should know where we are at as far as prices and a bottom. I am not one to call a bottom yet but we are getting multiple offers now on properties that are priced correct. We are seeing buyers getting frustrated at loosing deals after 5, 10, even 16 offers on each property. If you are looking to buy, be patient the right deal will come your way. Some would ask if there is so much inventory why are buyers having such a hard time? The inventory consists of REO (Bank Owned property after the foreclosure of a home) and Short Sale (Prior to foreclosure, owner still owes full mortgage amount). We still have a large number of short sales on the market that have not gone thru the process of foreclosure so when a REO bank owned property comes on the market it is priced at a price the bank agrees to and as long you are the highest and best (not first) offer the bank will accept. Agents are putting short sale listings on the market at low prices but the bank has not approved that price yet, so you place an offer on a short sale, they send it to the bank with supporting sales and if the bank rejects you have wasted 30, 45, even 90 days. If you are looking to buy and you do not want to waste time look at REO (Bank Owned) listings and be patient as you may be putting in an offer against 3-5 other buyers, remember the bank may require the property to be on the market for 5-7 days to get exposure and in that time 3, 5 , 10 offers may come in and the bank will look at the highest and best, which means the best price but also the best terms ( cash vs. loan , amount in escrow, percentage down, close date). If you are an informed buyer you will not be as frustrated at the process. Now that you have an accepted offer be ready that these are foreclosed homes and that the closing date may not be the date on the contract so do not plan everything on these dates, be ready that an extension may be needed due to title issues as the closing companies closing these deals are extremely over worked and mistakes happen. So Are we there yet? I think we are still going to see a reduction in prices but if you are going to live in your homes for 5-7 years or more it is getting to a point where buying is making more sense than renting.