The Times's Anne Ashworth and Rebecca O'Connor talk to a number of agents on the subject of bargains, cash-buyers and the (far from discredited) theory that catching a falling market within 10% of the bottom is a decent deal (the nature of a recovery is that investors who wait for firm evidence of a recovery miss the boat). Inevitably, the readers don't like it:

A lot of talk and "Talk is cheap" but the market hasnt bottomed out by along way and most people reading this article will just think most of these people commenting are wishful thinkers and holding on to there jobs for dear life.

And more of the same. Yes, agents want the market to pick up, but it's in their best interests to sell lots of houses cheap, rather than a few expensive ones. Furthermore, if the market has dropped by around 20%, and it's possible to knock a further few thousand off with a confident cash offer, then is it really so naive to wonder whether that's a decent deal? It shouldn't need pointing out, but at some point we will reach the bottom of the market.

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