How low will home prices go? Zillow says the housing
market has reached a bottom in more than half of the 30
metropolitan areas they track, and the “definitive bottom”
for the housing market will be the end of this year, or
early 2013.

The Seattle-based online real estate company released a
report Wednesday that shows home values are down about 24
percent nationally from the May 2007 peak and are now at
the same level as in late 2003.

Seattle, which entered the housing boom later than many
other markets, is one of a dozen metropolitan areas where
further price declines are expected through March 2013.

Zillow predicts home values will continue to slip in
the Seattle area, with a 1.3 percent decline expected in
the first quarter of next year.

The recovery in most areas will be a hyper-local
process, where individual ZIP codes will start to recover
before the metro area. That appears to be the case in my
neighborhood, Ballard, where a house on our block sold in
one weekend. Others coming on the market for sale are
getting multiple offers.

“For people who have been waiting to time their home
purchase close to market bottom, it’s time to start
shopping,” Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries says
in a statement. “When the bottom will hit will vary by
market, and it’s nearly impossible to time a purchase
exactly right.”

Below, glance at one of my favorite features on Zillow. A comparison of
the kind of home you can buy with a certain amount of
money in different cities around the U.S.

What can you get for about $350,000?

$358,000 for 1,729 Square feet in New
Orleans, Louisiana

$339,900 buys you 3,461 square feet in
Hartford, Connecticut

A $349,000 Miami home of 2,784 square
feet

$350,000 in Seattle buys a 1,790 square
foot home in Ballard

By LINDA THOMAS