patrick.net

1. Wait, houses in a lot of areas have yet to come down far enough. Once the tax credits end and interest rates go up with out a recovery in jobs they will come down more. Some parts of sac are probably a buy, but others have yet to come down enough. Elk Grove has crashed and gone getto.
2. Sacramento.
3. Yes, 1, 1500sqft

1. What do you tell people who are currently thinking about buying a home and why?
Just be patient and wait. It's never be to late to buy a house but it might be to early to jump in. You'd rather buying a house while the price is picking up than price is bottoming down.
2. What is is the general area you live in?
Los Angeles, CA
3. Do you currently own a home?
NO.
I just check wikipedia for average US household income chart.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States
Me and my husband's income is on around top 5% of the chart. However, we're still renting and we still feel we're not making enough to afford a decent house in a nice area in greater Los Angeles. I don't think we're asking too much. But if we're considering having kids in the next few years and putting some money aside for kids' education, we're left with option of $350k to buy a house and still feel comfortable. $450k might be the top line.
$350-$450 in Los Angeles for a house? You'll probably find a 30-year-old condo in nice area with 2beds 2baths or you'll find a 50-year-old house in a not-so-great area such as Monterey Park. That's why we're not buying any. We'd rather save $$ and invest to somewhere else than jump into the bubble.
12 years ago when I first came here. I like California alot and I feel I want to stay here forever. But now, with government's screwing up the funds, 9.75% sales tax, and everything's higher than most states but education ranked bottom 3 among US....plus wildfire every year due to global warming, plus we haven't had earthquake energy released in the past 30 years....
I don't see the point of living in here anymore. I don't feel like California is my dream hometown anymore.

mistagenki says

I know a couple here that are turning 60 soon, and bought their 1st house in 1982. They are just a few payments away from paying it all off, and over the years have lived in some of the nicer Bay Area neighborhoods. Upon their last payment, they will have paid just over $700,000 in payments total over almost 30 years (not counting upkeep, maintenance, taxes, insurance, etc.). And guess how much their country-club gated community home in the ‘burbs is worth right now? You guessed it, around $700,000. So if they sell anytime soon, they have made ZERO dollars over 28 years of payments, in fact have lost money due to all the other expenses a bought home occurs.

I guess that the only good thing about that would be that they have $700k; they could sell & use it toward their requirement. If they had invested the difference between rent and buying (rent equals $800/buying equals $1,000, so invest $200/mo) every month they might not have the same amount of dollars now. But, after upkeep, etc who knows. About the best thing I can say about buying for me is that my house payment won't increase, other than the taxes/insurance required.

1. What do you tell people who are currently thinking about buying a home and why? Frankly, I try not to engage in discussions since many Kool-Aid drinkers are clinging to the REIC mantra that real estate only goes up crowd / it's different here / everyone wants to live in SF Bay Area, et al. I have stuck to my core beliefs that it's been insane to buy in the Bay Area since the early 2000s. Moved to South Florida and had no qualms buying there in 2002 since prices were still reasonable there at that point in time.

2. What is is the general area you live in? I live in the city of San Francisco.

3. Do you currently own a home? No - I currently rent a nice, detached 3BR home with large yard for about 40% of what it would cost to buy. I sold my home in South Florida about 4 years when I moved back to the Bay Area. Didn't buy another house when I moved back since I could rent for pennies on the dollar and wasn't willing to spend $800k for fixer-upper. Personally, I sleep a lot better at night not worrying about paying off a $600k mortgage and what would happen if I was living paycheck to paycheck and lost my job.

1. What do you tell people who are currently thinking about buying a home and why?
Better deals will be available if you are patient.

2. What is is the general area you live in?
Baltimore City 21230

3. Do you currently own a home?
Yes.

1. Buy with 20% down. If you can't afford to save the down payment, you are not ready for home ownership.

2. NW Ohio

3. I am currently building a new home. I bought the lot last March and paid 20% down on the construction loan using cash and the lot as collateral. The home will be about 2000 ft^2. The home will also be an energy efficient ICF home with 3 bedrooms, a 2 car garage and a full basement.

1. DON'T DO IT. There is still a big shoe to drop.

2. San Francisco

3. No

"Yep. I bought pre-bubble and still have phantom equity. However, I kick myself every day knowing that if I’d sold at the height of the bubble I’d have $200k in my pocket right now."

Off topic, but this is basically what happened. It was a big casino. Spin the wheel and see what your prize is!! Some people ended up with 100's of thousands (or millions) of dollars in their bank accounts, and some ended up with 100's of thousands (or millions) of debt. Two sides of the same coin. And of course a hugely disproportionate share of the winning side went to the top 1%.

1. Save for a dp and wait and see what happens with all these foreclosures the bank are sitting on. Portland didn't have as much of a subprime problem but we sure enjoyed those Interest Only, Option ARMs, Neg Am loans. Our foreclosure rate continues to go up. Our last 7+ years have relied on housing from builders to landscapers, realtors, mortgage brokers, etc. We do not have strong fundamentals for a good recovery as we have lots of inventory to work through and not much of a job market. Prices are still out of line with incomes. $500k+ homes are seeing huge drops in asking price even though you hear about fools outbidding each other on starter homes, around $225K. Oh, and rent is dropping like a brick!

2. Portland, OR

3. Purchased a home in 1999 in prime close-in Eastside. Needed two incomes to afford the home, 1st mistake. Used a zero down VA loan as prices seemed to be increasing faster than we could save, 2nd mistake. We were fresh out of college with a boat load of college debt. Spouse got hit with the tech bust 2 years after we bought the home. Managed to hold on with unstable work but then threw a baby into the picture in 2006. We saw the bubble ever increasing, wondered how the heck people were pulling it off. Decided to sell while it was hot. Unloaded in May of 2007, near the peak of Portland's bubble. made out quite well though much went toward debt accrued from the years of unemployment, baby/childcare expenses, and bought a much needed car for the growing family. I've been a professional bubble sitter since around 2003. We'll sit and wait. Enjoying the cheap rent:O)

Leigh says

Used a zero down VA loan

How were you able to use a VA loan? Did you assume it? Or perhaps you were in the military before you went to college? If so, the loan amount under VA is limited by rank (usually it is junior enlisted who get out and go to college), so you can not have been hurt too bad.

HeadSet says

Leigh says

Used a zero down VA loan

How were you able to use a VA loan? Did you assume it? Or perhaps you were in the military before you went to college? If so, the loan amount under VA is limited by rank (usually it is junior enlisted who get out and go to college), so you can not have been hurt too bad.

Spouse was in the Navy in the late 80's early 90's then went to college. No injuries, though maybe psychological;O) Went to college on the GI Bill. We supposedly qualified for $250K in 1999 but we figured we could only afford about $180 given the pile of student loans. The GI Bill back then didn't cover much. The interest rate is higher when you use a VA loan by about 1%.