I’m calling a bottom

… in the housing market.  not today exactly, but next year we’ll look back and see that Nov/Dec was pretty clearly the bottom.

I’m no real estate expert.  But for the past year I’ve been watching this one property on Ten Oaks Road in Clarksville, MD.  I’ve seen it almost every day on my way to work and back.  The model-home looks like a mammoth, though I don’t know the square footage.  For a while after the brick was finished, it had scaffolding around it and work seemed to be progressing slowly.  Then about six months ago, work stopped completely — the sat idle with scaffolding around it and the sales-office/trailer fell into disrepair.  A sign appeared by the road that indicated it was ‘reduced’ to $1.2M (I have no idea what they might have been asking when the house was first raised).

Anyhow, about three weeks ago, the outside work was completed and the scaffolding removed.  The house is lit and furnished, and the sales office had a new roof/edifice installed.  I know it’s just one anecdote, but it’s small things like this that can indicate shifts in trends…