In his column on Realty Times, radio host, writer and, according to his bio, overall real estate superstar (he's raked in all kinds of awards), Peter L. Mosca reminds us that "Real estate is the single best investment one can make."

It's an important point he makes, heck it's nearly a cliche, but Mosca puts the recent housing market panic into perspective. What we've experienced is a "correction". As eerily Orwellian as that sounds, it's true. The housing market rocketed way too high way too fast and way too many people speculated on value with less credit than Monopoly money. Those people, those gambles and those values are being "corrected." If there's anyone who should panic it's the person who tried to parlay their overvalued bungalow into thousands of equity dollars. There's a good chance a falling market will bite them in the tookus. Others who should panic include, investors who poured their money into mutual funds fueled by the rickety subprime mortgage market, and lenders who still owe radio stations for all those ads screaming at you about owning a home for a nickel.

Here's who shouldn't panic: home buyers. Now is your time to shine. Tosca points out that, "Among the 20 markets surveyed by S&P/Case-Shiller, which represent more than 40 percent of the U.S. population, four posted home price appreciation rates of more than 80 percent over the past five years while 11 registered gains of more than 45 percent." Most markets are still going up, maybe not as frighteningly fast as before, but even those markets portrayed as losers are still rising, just slower. And that's a good thing. If you want to make a quick buck, then try the lottery. But for certain, sustained growth in an investment you can live with and in (can't move into a mutual fund), then now is the time to buy a home.

Not sure if you're ready to buy? Get our FREE Buyers Guide!