Have we hit bottom?

Flowers on Saturday, Snow on Tuesday

There are signs of Spring in spite of the snow last night.  Just like our goofy weather, the real estate market is changing for the better but in an uneven path. In 2011, the number of houses sold were up but the prices were down when compared to 2010. Nationally, the change from January 2012 to February 2012 was the opposite-number of sales were down but the  prices were up. Here in Kootenai County, both the sales and the prices were up.. The biggest question on everyone's mind is "When are we going to hit bottom?" I do now proclaim- I think we are there. (Risky, I know but note the weasel word- think)
The first sign was the increase of rental rates. All those people that moved in with roommates or Mom & Dad are moving back out on their own. (Did you hear all that celebrating?) With this increase in the  number of renters and few new buildings due to the banks' pull back on construction loans, the rental market went from high vacancy rates to low. As a result, the  landlords have started raising rents. With higher rents, multifamily properties have been able to demand higher sales prices since the value of this type of real estate is more influenced by the income generated than the single family market. So... rates are low and rents are up-now all those renters who have been hesitating to get into the market are seeing that it is cheaper to buy than it is to rent.
I want to buy now while prices are still low! Let me know if you see anything interesting out there!