Zillow COO's housing prediction

Zillow.com's Chief Operating Officer, Spencer Rascoff, gives his prediction for the housing market:

"In the second half of 2009, home values are going to continue to decline. Foreclosures are going to keep making up a significant part of the sales, probably about a quarter of all sales in the back half of 2009 nationwide will be foreclosures," says Rascoff, adding, "I think you'll have those homes clear off the market but new foreclosures come on the market right behind them."

Rascoff believes we are a full year away from a true national bottom in housing, but even then, he says, don’t expect to make money fast. "You're not going to see a return to rapid appreciation from a couple of years ago," he opines. "This is probably going to be an L-shaped recovery where home values stay relatively constant once they hit the bottom."