Feeling brave? Some thoughts on how bad the market will get

We’ve all wondered about it: Just how bad can this current housing slump get?

Usually when I ask real estate professionals this question, they say it’s already gotten as bad as it’ll get. They predict the start of a turnaround in the residential real estate market in 2009, and a full-fledged recovery beginning in 2010.

That seems a long way off. But at least there’s that light at the end of the tunnel.

But … what if these experts are wrong? What if we haven’t seen the worst of the market yet? What if things are going to get a lot worse before they get better?

If you like grim news, then this story in Time Magazine is for you. The story, by Janet Morrissey poses the thought that the country’s mortgage crisis — record foreclosures, so far — is only beginning, and that the repercussions of it will impact nearly every segment of the nation’s economy.

It’s chilling stuff. And important. My advice? Read the story. And prepare for the worst. In cases like these, it seems, the pessimists are usually right.