Good news on housing prices

According to news reports, real estate prices in the Twin Cities increased by 4.6% in July over a month earlier.  There seem to be a lot of signs that the real estate market has hit bottom and may be returning to some growth.
First time buyers, in particular, should probably be making their move into housing, as the federal first-time home buyer's credit expires shortly.  $8000 is a pretty decent credit, when you compare it against a $15,000-20,000 down payment that a typical 20% down buyer would make.