CNBC's Jim Cramer calls the bottom for housing* Inland Empire leading the Way!

CNBC's Jim Cramer has accurately called some of the major turning points in the ongoing housing bust, and he is making another call today. He sees the bottom for housing. But here's the asterisk: *Cramer said he expects a bottom by the third quarter of 2009.

In explaining his call, Cramer cobbles together a familiar litany of signs the housing market is stabilizing: an increase in sales spurred by falling prices; a slowdown in home building; federal efforts to help troubled borrowers; and population growth that will spur household creation and demand for housing.

More, from CNBC's article on why Cramer sees signs of a turnaround:

"The horror shows that are the California, Florida and Arizona real estate markets are no longer bleeding into other areas. These heavy losses are being cordoned off, Cramer said, and different markets are evening out.

Lastly, even these horrible areas –- Bradenton in Florida and the Central Valley in California –- are bottoming. The first to fall is usually the first to return, Cramer said. He’s predicting that Miami and the Inland Empire are next."

I've complimented Cramer's calls before, and that usually encourages a number of you to cite chapter and verse of big things he's messed up. Before you jump on him -- and you're welcome to -- I'll say for the record: He was the loudest voice last summer saying, correctly, that the Bernanke Fed was behind the curve in fighting the credit crisis (this was the classic "Bernanke has no idea!" meltdown on live television). He was also one of the first talking heads to articulate just how bad the housing bust was getting in places like the Inland Empire.