Have we hit the bottom of the real estate market yet? Let me check my magical crystal ball . . . I’m not sure if the bottom has hit just yet but all signs seem to indicate that market activity has picked up. This is definitely a good sign for recovery. Over the past few weekends, there is noticably more foot traffic at open houses and new developments such as Axis, The 88, One East Julian, and City Heights. This means that more buyers are out there looking and in due time, hopefully getting off the proverbial fence, and purchasing.

In a recent Business Week article, Proshant Gopal found one of the fastest selling zip codes in the country here in San Jose. In fact, eight of the ten zip codes with the most improved home sales were found in California. Many of the zip codes that are now selling were some of the hardest hit by the foreclosure landslide. But banks are now getting more aggressive with their REO inventory and listing properties low enough to attract multiple offers in many cases.

New construction developments are also dropping prices to attract buyers looking to take advantage of the up to $18,000 in tax credits from the State of Califonrnia (up to $10,000 tax credit for new home purchase) and the Federal government (up to $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers). At The 88, prices have dropped up to $81,000 on select units in a developer special.

With these low prices, historically low interest rates, and tax credits, now is a great time to buy. Maybe these are signs of a rebound in the real estate market . . .