Some saw the housing bubble and sold; trick now is spotting the bottom

The L.A. Times reports:

Mark Kiesel saw the real estate crash coming.

Kiesel, a managing director at investment firm Pimco, wasn't alone in his 2006 warning of a looming housing market meltdown. But he was among the few who put his money -- in his case, a lot of it -- where his mouth was.

Kiesel and his wife, Amy, sold their Newport Beach house in the summer of 2006 for 20% more than they had paid and moved into an apartment one-fifth the size.

Now, news reports highlight signs of a real estate market bottom. And the Kiesels are still renting.