What Goes Around

The media says that this is a “down” real estate market. That is true and not true. Certainly there has been a price correction in what was an upward trend for the past 10 or so years. So in the upward market people kept buying and buying and there were bidding wars because good product needed to be scooped. So now, due to world and financial markets we have price adjustments and wonderful opportunities for truly “good deals” for the first time in 10 years. Prices are down and this seems to me like the opportune time to buy.
We are a vacation market and second home market. The Hamptons may have sandy soil but our foundation is solid rock. To my mind, as long as New York City is thriving so will the Hamptons. I am not a financial wiz but I see this as a great time for buyers to invest in real estate. If our dollar is shrinking and the stock market unsteady – where better to place money than in something “real”. Am I wrong here?
I saw a property today it a great location, bay front – house needs work big open views $1.5M -it looks as good as gold to me.
I guess the question I am asking is when the market is high people buy at the top of the market with a great deal of confidence and yet when the market adjusts downward they hesitate. Does this make sense? Is this not like which came first the chicken or the egg? Comments please.