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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Good news for the Colorado Springs economy:  Experts said we have bottomed out and are on the way to recovery.

Experts said the local economy is based on 10 indicators, also known as the BCI or Business Conditions Index.

"Five of them are higher than they have been recently, so when you have five out of 10 on the upwards direction you have to start thinking we are at the bottom of the economy," said Fred Crowley with the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS).

Crowley said some of those indicators include housing, sales tax revenue and foreclosures. He said the housing market is picking up.

"Two things in the housing market: building permits although weak have in fact strengthened a little bit, and the resale market -- there are fewer homes entering the market for sale, and that is going to help stabilize home prices equaling supply and demand," Crowley said.

Despite the good news, Crowley said the housing market will take some time to recover.

As for foreclosures, he predicts fewer in 2009.

"We will see a couple of months where it will go up and down a little bit, but it does seem that foreclosures have peaked," Crowley said. "What we have found is when foreclosures start going down building permits start going up, and that is beginning to materialize right now."

Finally Crowley said with the arrival of the Army's troops from Fort Hood this summer, sales tax revenue will also pick up.

"This is again a very strong stimulus because people will be working and they will be able to go out and spend more money which in turn will stimulate the economy," Crowley said.