And so the demand for housing will soon change from a trickle to a slow stream to a moderate current and eventually to a flood. The average person will watch and wait, all the while muttering, "It isn't time yet." This could go on for several years and basically rules out "Joe Average" for any potential profit. Some will venture forth because they realize that "close to the bottom" is about as close as anyone will achieve. But many others will want to move forward but simply do not know how.
Let's look at the ways this can be done. You can purchase a house (primary residence), a second home or a rental property or you can lease-option a house or a second home. You can also lease-purchase a house or second home. It would be difficult to lease-option or lease-purchase a rental, but not impossible. You would need a tenant so you wouldn't be losing the lease money while you were preparing to exercise the option or the purchase. If you are sharp enough, you can simply buy an option on a house without leasing it or setting up a purchase.
I created an option on behalf of my seller to allow a buyer the time to sell several houses to finance the purchase. It was a multimillion dollar transaction and I didn't want my seller to open an escrow for the sale, even with delayed closing, because I didn't want the buyer or his agent to ever claim the sale was contingent on the sale of his houses. The entire transaction took two years but it preserved the value for the seller as the market had started to fall and made the buyer perform because he spent several million for the option that would be valueless if he failed to exercise it within the designated timeframe.
I am not here to tell you that these are the only ways to take advantage of the coming rebound in real estate because you can always come up with something creative. How about trading stocks or bonds for a residential property? There could be some tax advantages to that type of transaction. (Of course, consult your tax advisor.) Desire finds a way to accomplish anything; skepticism finds very little.
We are already seeing markets coming back to life from North Carolina to Arizona, from Southern California to Washington State. It is a unique time in our financial history that will create many wealthy people. Your decision to become one of the wealthy is up to you. Begin your investigation with those who are associated with the real estate industry and do not get in over your head. This is a great time to start, but a real bad time to be undisciplined.