======= Helpful points , and when I have bought, didnt get in a hurry, which some of our Realtor friends didnt like much. Besides RE isnt liquid like stocks; and while RE agents certainly are worth comissions as as full time pecialists generaly are, wide bid/ask/exspenses in RE.
There are two types of ownership to a house/condo/whatever as my company partner always said, 1. hope of making money 2. consumption if it is consumption, then nothing should affect your decision except affordability, and if you truly think you like a place and would like to live there for the rest of your life if it is making money, then it is something else and open up a whole can of worms
I hear few words mentioned talking about it (the carry trade; that old chestnut) but that trade is getting squeezed to a point where the costs of unwinding are beginning to outweigh the spread. The short term rates have to cross a threshold and hold there longer than the market expects. That should not take long for weak hands to lose their grip; thus a domino effect (to what extent is conjecture). Furthermore, what kind of leverage is being acutely applied to long term rates? Monetary policy has been enitirely too accomodative for too long. This stance renders the fed impotent to achieving some of its goals.
What about getting what you pay for? The thought here is that homes in the Northern NJ area going for well over half a million are certainly NOT worth that price. And perhaps by waiting, this price will drop a bit.
When it is consumption, there is no such thing as objective valuation anymore e.g. you like a movie so much you buy it the first day it is available in the store, knowingly know that in a week or so, it will be at least 10 to 15% lower in price. Thats why affordability is the only factor remaining, although most people over estimate their ability to afford anything
Please refer to the last post on page 2 of this thread: Perhaps I took it "slightly" out of context for dramatic effect. Poetic license, and all that.
Housing bears still at it, oh wait, its this site...these are just apartment dwellers who can't afford anything.