As the new president takes office, he'll be moving into the middle of one of the country's real estate markets that's in full throttle recovery.

Just like its neighbors across the Potomac River, Prince George's County, Maryland, the southeast suburb of Washington, D.C., has recently begun its climb out of the foreclosure mess and is about to become one of the region's hot markets. The signs are starting to emerge in the realm of pending sales -- which is the sign of future business in real estate markets.

The county's unemployment rate lingers around 4 percent according to local data and has enjoyed job growth through recent commercial development on the Potomac River front; in addition, Andrews Air Force Base stands to gain 2,200 or more jobs through the reassignments to the area as a result of BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure). The county could gain a residual 14,000 spin-off jobs as a result of the realignment over the next 10 years, according to the county's Economic Development Corporation.

In a year of dropping prices, home shoppers have jumped off the fence of indecision and started buying houses since mid-year. At that time, the inventory flattened and has now started to match a year ago. With December pending sales up 49 percent over December 2007 (528 contracts written vs. 354 last year), the last quarter ended at 15 percent higher than a year ago.

Average prices have dropped from an average last January 2008 of $300,000, to about $250,000 for December 2008. If the county follows the pattern of its counterparts in Northern Virginia, prices will reach a level that buyers can't refuse and flood the market.