Have you heard housing prices are in the toilet?

"This is the absolute best time in my 33 years in real estate to buy a home," says Jim Gillespie, president and chief executive officer of Coldwell Banker. Gillespie faults the national media's focus on foreclosures and the subprime mortgage crisis for keeping home buyers on the sidelines these days.

If you recall, part of the problem in today's housing market is the amount of money investors are trying to get for their homes. Instead of buying low and selling high, many jumped into the frenzy a little too late, bought high and then tried to sell higher.

If they are strapped for cash, they might be feeling the pinch of not being able to out wait this market correction. The asking price for a home in my neighborhood has been reduced by $244,000. (Yes, we all thought it was over-priced to begin with and that the former commercial appraiser selling his primary residence had become a bit too emotionally attached, to either his home or his dreams of a more comfy retirement, when setting the initial price.)

The fact remains: this is a good time for people who are not over-leveraged to buy real estate. We have a pairing rarely seen in business - low property prices and low interest rates.

The whiners may be wailing about the one thing that is higher than in recent history: lending standards. Yes, in today's economy, banks want you to actually be able to prove a likelihood of paying back your loan.

If your primary residence is paid for, or nearly so, this may be a good time for you to consider leveraging some of your equity for a bargain investment property. There are indeed bargains to be had.

If you're still paying substantially on your own home, you may want to put "investing in real estate" on your dream board of why it's a good idea to pay off your mortgage sooner rather than later. A penny not paid on mortgage interest is a penny earned!

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