At any given time, parts of the economy and housing market are thriving and or not. Thus, some sectors of the economy and housing market will be recovered fully by 2012... some will not.

Much of the real estate data suggests the under 100K market has stabilized. At the same time, the luxury market may or may not have stabilized... there have been too few sales to establish a trend.

Bottom line... whether you are Lee McPheters, Warren Buffett or a guy like me who follows a lot of stats each day, we're all guessing. Each day poses new opportunities and set backs that change the equation. The only thing I know for sure is that hope is essential to both the human spirit and our recovery.

Reality is this is a dead cat bounce, things will continue to slide and despite the folks answering with a vested interest, this is a real recession, and increases mentioned are not sustainable (foreclosures and tax break seekers). No one wants to buy on the way down.

I agree with the agents on this one. If you did your own research you would see the 16.8% jump of housing sales during the months of May-July and they are continuing to rise. Also listed on Dice.com and Careerbuilder.com is an increase in technology and private sector market jobs. Yes, Labor is down and that has always been a problem for the Phoenix and Tucson areas. Labor manpower vs. Job market, the manpower has been at a 17.8% surplus since 1998, so this recession made that job market worse. The news is in business on the basis of fear and negativity. It is what sells the news, people do not like to read about good things, but rather the bad. This recession is not really a recession, but rather a slump of the market into the area it should have been in the whole time. The fall of the dot.com investors caused them to head into the real estate market. From 2000 to current, the market had been flooded with these new investors and it created a balloon in the housing market. The housing market was operating at a higher level of inflation than normally predicted. This recession is merely the market slumping to figures that it should have been if the dot.com investors had not flooded the market by flipping homes and developing at such a high rate. It is unfortunate for those who bought their homes at the height of the ballooned market, the market will recover, but it will take some time.

Bill,
Great reply post. There is no objectivity in this post...it is the Opinion of the Arizona Republic.

Our society believes what it sees and reads not what is real. Turn the TV off and read between the lines.
Think,
God gave us a brain not just to take in others ideas and suggestions but to develop an opinion of our own.

If you want to know about the war talk to a soldier. If you want to know about your local real estate market talk to a trusted real estate agent. There is no reason for us to lie about the market, it doesn't profit us and eventual will ruin our business if we do...Unlike media outlets, our own political views or need to sell advertising does not affect our reporting of the facts.
Above all agents, I know, hold a high standard for protecting the interest of our friends, customers, and clients.
Stop reading and start asking the people you know and trust. No one has a crystal ball, and looking out 2 years on perspective home values is dangerous. I
f you need to sell, sell.
If you need or want to buy, buy.
It is that simple.
Timing the market is what got most homeowners in the hole in the first place.
Good Luck and thanks for the post

A possible suggestion, watch less televised news and don't buy nrwspapers or magazines. People have become too accustomed to accepting the often editorialized and sometimes manipulated information passed on to them by the media....

People need to work harder at getting back to thinking for themselves.