On the surface, Florida's home foreclosure rate appears to have improved.

JUPITER, Fla. - Florida, once in the top five states for foreclosures has now moved into the number seven spot.

According to Shari Olefson, real-estate attorney, and author of "Foreclosure Nation: Mortgaging the American Dream," the housing crisis gripping the nation may be loosening its hold here in Florida.

"Once we do hit the bottom, we're going to see a much quicker uptick here in Florida, than in other parts of the country," said Olefson.

However, as real estate agent Kimberly Hoss warns, don't get too excited. "I think that might give people sort of a false hope, that maybe there are less foreclosures, when in fact the problem is still here," said Hoss.

"We had a bigger bubble and we've been in a deeper hole since the bubble burst. I think we have not hit the bottom yet. We probably will do that towards the end of this year," added Olefson.

But just because the bubble burst, doesn't mean there's no room for growth. With thousands of foreclosures and short sales still on the market, some believe the time to buy is now.

"The current condition of the market really pushed me to. Now was definitely the time," said recent first-time homebuyer Andrea Fredericks.

For Fredericks, the housing collapse came at the perfect time, allowing her to move out of a two bedroom rental, and into a three story condo.

"This was definitely a long term investment for me. I wanted to buy something that I could grow into and stay here for a while," said Fredericks.

Six years ago, the house Andrea eventually purchased sold for over $300,000 dollars. Last October, she paid just over $160,000 dollars.

"It was definitely well within my price range. I offered a little bit less and they eventually accepted," said Fredericks.

While the experts are saying we haven't bottomed out yet, people like Andrea Fredericks are taking advantage of the situation to buy low-cost property.

If enough people are willing, and able to continue this trend, then gradually rising property values should be on the horizon.