The number one emailed article in the New York Times a few days ago was called “It May Be Time to Think About Buying a House.”
The article was a mix of positive and negative regarding the housing market. On one end it cited lower home prices, low interest rates and homebuyer incentives, while at the other end of the spectrum was the potential for home values to decrease.
Interestingly, it quoted a study (opens as a pdf) which included Seattle as a market that was projected to potentially see home values decline significantly by 2012. (The study came out before the government took steps to reduce borrowing costs.)
This prediction was in direct contradiction to the PMI Group’s ‘Economic and Real Estate Trends’ report (opens as pdf, go to page 6), which has Seattle as a market with minimal chance of seeing home value depreciate over the next two years.
So it’s an interesting take, and maybe mainly a reminder to take economic studies with a grain of salt.
My own totally personal prediction based on what I’m feeling from my client base is that next year is not going to be as dismal as most people are currently predicting. Yes, economic times are tough, but many people have faith in the long term health of our market and are looking to move up from their current home while they have a chance to buy when prices are lower.
Again, this is not company spiel, just my thoughts based on the vibes I’m getting. Seeing as this is now in the public domain you’re welcome to call me on it later. 
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