How can one say "right time to buy real estate" when mortgage rates are lowest ever? It does not make sense. When the mortgage rates start to climb up, prices should come down even further. (In theory)
In 3 years your school and property taxes will probably increae 30%, is your income going to increase in three years? Taxes will only be a small part of your future expense of owning a home. If your income is not going to keep up with rising costs go long ramen noodles.
After another crash (if the big boyz leave the market alone) price will even be better because everyone will be too broke to buy anything. Big if, but when you look at baby boomers retire (or re-retire) and ninja generation with no income and no desire to start a family, real estate will be a sight for sore eyes for the foreseeable future. Another thing to watch for is when banks stop monkeying around with the supply than the market will take it down another notch and increase in taxes, food and energy prices, could only mean less cash for down payments. Only thing that could prop up price is high inflation but that will kill everything else i.e. the dollar. In essence, RE is going to be another dead money play in the majority of markets.
This is an easy fix. Obama and US policy should allow more ASIANs into the USA, and less low labored workers. The money will flow back into the USA. MONEY in CHINA will NEVER buy people freedom, not that there is any freedom here anymore either. The generation crap that are pollutted w/ reality shows and believing life has to run a certain path are the suckers. Rent too high, debt too high, it will kill you at any level, be it at the national one or micro one.
Also, all the talk about RE is meaningless if you cannot single out MMA, or location. RE is about location and to generalize the notion that RE is dead is 'absurd'! Speculative areas such as FLORIDA/LV and some parts of CALI are being punished, and this is natural. Deleveraging is also happening and will take time. But there are PLENTY OF areas where median prices have remained strong and are in fact rising! - - - In the end, human beings and real estate still go hand in hand. Relativity of this is just as comparable to the value of ports, canal, and the such. What I'm saying is, people will regress back to major market areas, because they are 'safe'!