It's bargain time for homebuyers

Two years of stormy real estate markets appear to have created an ideal climate for bargain-minded house hunters who know where to look.

Real estate experts say a switch in the psychology of the housing market has helped buyers to see the silver lining around the market's storm clouds and usher in the fine shopping weather.

"We are now in a solid buyer's market," says David Lereah, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). "It has been a seller's market for many years, but now we are seeing people across the country making deals and bringing prices down."