For sure...two to three years for even bottoming out around here; just tons and tons of For Sale signs rusting on front lawns all over town.
This inventory has to change hands - all of it - and then the market will be "flat" for quite some time, with little or no appreciation.
>>California's backlog of homes for sale shrank to 7.7 months of supply in June from 16.8 months in January.<<
I know about the Inland Empire area. It got hit bad in the down turn. Other areas have fared much better.