People are "on the fence" because the Inland Empire has one of the worst economies in the United States right now. Home values have dropped by about half in places like Yucca Valley. Who knows how much they'll fall in the months to come?

It is difficult to get a good mortgage without having stellar (770+) credit. You need 20% down, firm. And there are vacant REO homes *everywhere* you know are being slowly trickled into the market by the troubled institutions holding the paper.

It is *only* a good time to buy if you find a house you love in a place you intend to stay for a long time, and the mortgage payment is less than comparable rent.

Home prices will not rise again like they did between 2000-2007. We won't see it in our lifetimes. You will not turn your house into an ATM again.

So, if you've been looking and you want to own, yes prices are low and interest rates are pretty decent. But if you aren't completely sure you want a house and want to stay in one place, give a thought to all the millions of Americans stuck in houses they cannot sell.

And if you *do* buy, only buy a "distressed property" -- a foreclosure or short sale. Everything else is still priced 30% above what the REOs are selling for today. Don't be turned off by needing to repaint or replace carpet ... what's $15K when you're buying a house for half the price of the regular listings?

Wow. So you realize you were totally wrong....? Prices went down another 20% after you told everyone to buy. I hope you and the other Realtors on here stocked up a year ago on all these great deals.

Reg,

We totally agree............from where we stand it looks like "the perfect storm" for buyers and a disaster for most sellers.
Do you remember this phrase, "I wish I had bought when I had the chance." Well, now's the chance.

I think The news hurts alot. Every night the public gets to hear how bad the market is.
If you tell people something long enough, they start to believe it.
So I guess the bottom line is FEAR in the market.
Fear of buying before the bottom.