$427,900.

Or more, or less. So much depends.

The best deal will NOT be the cheapest deal.. The cheapest deal will be a house in a less desirable section of Fair Oaks maybe backing up to or sitting directly on a major thouroughfare like Hazel or Sunrise. - Maybe in need of some serious repairs. Price range? That would be a huge range from what you described. Is somewhere between a quarter million and half a million too wide a range? Then is it Fair Oaks specific or will you be looking at neighboring Carmichael and Orangevale?

Breaking down the $427,900 - That would be $151 per square foot for a 2500 square foot, 4 br, 2bath home.
A 4 bedroom home could be smaller than 1600 square feet or as larger than 3000+ sq feet. Two totally different lifestyles.

Prices will be different a year from now. There are always going to be some foreclosures. Recently we've seen our market move towards more short sales, than foreclosures so they make up the majority of listings at the moment.

I would suggest you get set up with a client portal, start to learn the market values for the areas that you're looking so you can see how the prices go up, down, or stay the same. And meet with a lender now so you can ensure your credit is as good as it can be, you've budgeted correctly and you're ready to go. You'll get your best buy when you're educated well on the market.

But why were you waiting? The home buyer's tax incentive runs out 12/1. That might be a reason to consider buying now.

Good luck to you!