Ramana

In my opinion, there is no good time to buy this year. If you are keen to own a house (for whatever reason), wait till October when the prices drop (this happened in SR even in 2006 & 2007).
I do not want to say Barb is wrong, but she conveniently forgot to include several things.

1. You put down 10-20% of the home price, instead it can be invested to get a return of 6-8% annually (if u rent).
2. You pay property taxes, which are high in SR (compared to south bay). BTW, if you are subject to AMT (most 2-earner families in Nay area are), you cannot deduct this.
3. You have to spend some money for the maintenance, even for a new home, 0 if u rent.
4. You also have to pay insurance.
If you really add all of these, there is no comparison in money. Renting is definitely cheaper.

On the other side, we do like to own nice things and if you like a house, you will buy it. I bought my house in 2003 (before the bubble) and got a great low rate mortgage, still if I rent my house I will get less than what I pay out in mortgage+taxes+insurance+maintenance. I still like my house and do not feel bad about buying it. - Sat Apr 26 2008, 13:40

I have been looking at some houses in windemere for my sister. For the price (880K) you should be able to get a 3000+sqft house now. In my opinion, you should be able to get a substantial reduction in price. How much you can get depends on your bargaining skills.
I suggest that you look at the list prices for homes in the neighborhood and offer below their asking price. I think Jennifer gave some examples.
I would not go above 800K for the house but then I am not personally in the market. You should make an offer that suits your conditions.
BTW, I heard from one of my friends who lives in windemere, that one of the builders initially refused a really low offer and a day later the builder's rep called back accepting that price. This may or may not be true and the conditions may be specific to the house (last one in the lot...) but it shows that you should make an offer that you like and wait for the builder to respond.
Good luck with your search. - Sat Jan 12 2008, 09:58