BUY NOW! That's the hot advice of respected housing expert Barbara Corcoran, who says she's never seen a better time to purchase a home. "Typically when real-estate prices are low, interest rates are high. This is the first time I've seen cheap money and cheap prices simultaneously. This is the good old days we've dreamt about." Corcoran has a knack for timing. Having parlayed a $1,000 loan into the high-end New York City real estate firm she started, The Corcoran Group, she sold the company for $66 million in 2001, before the market cratered. Now, as an investor on ABC's Shark Tank, Corcoran encourages buyers to jump at the abundance of good deals. "It's a perfect time to snatch a bargain or to up-grade," she says. And when does she think the market will rebound? "Real estate is slow to unwind but fast to recover. I suspect we'll make up most of the loss of the last four years within the next 18 months." - Laurie Wiegler
