I owned houses and land when 2008 hit. My properties have come back. I was liquid and therefore able to buy more real estate in 2010, and it is doing good. In my case, three things made this possible- liquidity, location, and luck.
I was able to rent out some of the 2008 depreciated property, and this helped. I am sorry to hear of your situation.
We are not upside down nor did we get the long thrust that those who bought in ‘06 but it ain’t quite back up to what we paid.
Glad you lucked out!