According to the Chicago Tribune, July housing sales are up from this time last year in northern Illiniois and parts of southern Wisconsin and northwest Indiana. It's a small increase - 7,828 this July compared to 7,752 last July - but still, we'll take what we can get, right?

But, the good news did not extend to home prices. Sale prices are actually down from this time last year, which is perhaps one of the reasons that the actual number of sales are up. The first-time buyer credit, combined with historically low interest rates and low prices have created the perfect storm for buyers without a property to sell.

So, have we finally hit bottom in the real estate market? What do you think?