With all the news of foreclosures headlining the news, it is easy to overlook the signs that we may be near the bottom of the market.

According to a May 20, 2008 Bay Area Home Sales Report released by real estate news source DataQuick, "Bay Area home sales edged up from a seven month run of record lows last month, indicating that mortgage availability and an increased number of fence sitters have decided they like today's lower prices."

In other news, a May 22, 2008 RealtyTimes article entitled, "Real Estate Outlook: Worst is Over," "The housing market offered some immediate hints of recovery with new home starts up by 8.2 percent last month [April, 2008] and building permits up by 5 percent."

The California Association of Realtors reported on May 23rd that "Home sales registered a 2.5 percent year-to-year gain compared with April 2007, ending a 30-month string of year-to-year percentage decreases that began in October 2005."

Other signs that we are at, or near, the bottom of this cycle are:

Buy and hold investors are coming back into the market.

Multiple offers on bank-owned properties, trophy properties, and wellpriced homes in the best school districts.

Our Days of Inventory indicator has fallen to 242 from the peak of 471 reached in January.

If you have been sitting on the sidelines waiting to enter the market, there may not be a better time than now. Prices in some markets may not have hit their lowest point, but they probably aren't far off. In many areas, only the pace of sales has been affected while prices have held firm and in some cases, have gone up.