The real estate bubble is arguably what got us into the economic mess to begin with. With this in mind, many are watching it closely for signs of a revival. The market has been picking up recently, but it will dip again in December. Is there reason for panic? Hardly.

Owning a home is the Great American Dream for many. At least, it was. The last few years have seen many dreams turn into nightmares. The question is when will things return to normal? The news the last few months has been fairly good as housing sales have stabilized and even picked up in some areas. December, however, is going to be a bad month and the first quarter of 2010 will also be disappointing. There are two reasons and they reveal why the dip shouldn't be taken to seriously.

The first-time homebuyers tax credit was designed to get buyers back into the market. Well, it has worked. We've definitely seen the market pick up. Alas, the tax credit has an expiration date. People buying homes in December 2009 and beyond will not be able to claim the tax credit. As a result, we can expect to see October and November purchases rates rise as people try to get transactions done before the deadline. December, however, will be slow because of it. Still, you can expect to see "the sky is falling" headlines in the media. This is exactly what happened when the Cash for Clunkers program ended and the media was "shocked" that Ford's sales were down five percent!

The second reason you shouldn't panic is December and the first quarter of every year tend to be slow periods in the real estate market. Between the holidays and nippy temperatures, there simply is a natural droop in sales rates. When combined with the drop we should see after the first-time homebuyers tax credit expires, the overall effect could be such that it looks like the market is falling off a cliff again. Don't fall for the illusion!

The real estate market has bottomed out for all intensive purposes. Don't fret when you see bad numbers for December and the first quarter of 2010.