http://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/why_isnt_anyone_buying_realestate_This_is_the_tim-64706en-ushttp://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Other-New_York-811938/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Other-New_York-811938/Unfortunately, the goverment and banks are putting the first time buyers in a hole. It is a shame their first experience is going to be a bad one. properties will drop another 30 to 50 % to 1998 1999 prices. By artificially keeping interest rates low, home prices are being kept up. The cycle of mortgage rates now at a low time low together with the deficit will result in inflation and higher interest rates in the next cycle that will result in prices dropping substantially> Who ever tells you interest rates will not go up are lying to you and anyone who says prices will not drop substantially are lying to you. It is better to buy when interest rate are high then when they are low because when the next cycle of interest rate drop your house price will go up and you either refinance to a lower rate or sell your house at a profit. If you buy now and rates go up you pay lower interest rates but the value of your house is lower than you paid for it and its no fun when your neighbor buys the house next door for less than you paid even if the payment of your mortgage and his are the same. When the next cycle of interest rates go up you house will hopefully be worth you you paid for no gain. Not a very smart decision to buy now. Goverment is not giving you money to buy a house now as a first time buyer because they like first time buyers, they are doing it because they need to stimulate sales. That by itself should tell you something.Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:38:11 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Phoenix_AZ-535182/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Phoenix_AZ-535182/Hi Joe, Jared brings up a point that I believe hits home for most of America which has been overlooked by economists and why the DNC is so popular right now (I'm a Republican). The issue with the economy isn't just "being employed". It's that when you are employed you make enough money that you can afford a decent home in a decent area, which is Jared's situation. In Arizona we are selling homes here. We had 6,100 sales last month and the majority of those were 150-200k, 1st time home buyer range. There are two things that need to be said here that we as Americans do which also effects home buying. We spend too much on things that don't truly benefit us and we don't save "anything". If Jared had a substantial savings, he could place more down payment on his home which would lower his payment. So sacrifice needs to be brought to the table as part of his formula in order to solve his home buying problem if he wants to live in California. Jared, stop spending and Start saving. No more ipods, new plasma tv's and 2008 Toyota Prius. Take the bus, read some books and learn to play the guitar. This example may sound like I'm being a little snide, but in reality that's what most of America needs to start doing. Of course, you could move out here to Arizona and I could help you purchase a nice 2 bedroom 2001 home in surprise ;-) All The Best! Stew Keene Inspire Realty Group Keller WilliamsMon, 27 Oct 2008 05:27:54 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Home_Buyer--158253/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Home_Buyer--158253/Because although this is the time I'd like to buy, no one wants to sell bad enough to properly price a property I'd be willing to live in. CA is still a joke. There may be neighborhoods or select areas where real estate is local, but for the most part we are still 20% off. Incomes can't responsibly support the prices people are still asking. Sellers keep using homes that are sitting on the market as comps, and if it doesn't sell, the one you list won't either. If you really want to sell something, bring the price down based on icome for the area and not how much they want for the shack down the road.Mon, 27 Oct 2008 04:26:50 -0700