The Key for Home Buyers is to Find the Balance

Regardless of the many articles about the real estate market, wether it is at the bottom should not be the main focus if you are in the market to buy a home right now. It is still not clear that home prices have hit bottom and nobody knows when that day will come. Regardless, the desire to get a home at the lowest possible price must be balanced with obtaining a favorable  mortgage rate and finding a home that will meet the buyer’s needs over a 5 to 10 year time horizon.

The California Association of Realtors declares that "the statewide median has remained at roughly $250,000 for four months running in what appears to be a bottom. If the flattening out of prices at vastly more affordable levels entices buyers off the fence, the median price could hold at its present level or even experience some upward momentum. However, the weak economy and an anticipated peak in foreclosures later this year may limit or more than offset that momentum and drive prices below their present levels sometime between now and early in 2010."

Finding the balance in buyer a home means this: If you find the house that fits your specific needs at the best price possible during this time AND you can obtain a favorable interest rate on your mortgage, then PULL THE TRIGGER! Even if home prices go down, interest rates will inevitably go up... and that event will likely price you right out of the market.

Find the balance, pull the trigger.