… and they are not likely to level off any time soon. Additionally, any predictions that SD real estate will decrease by 50% are assinine since the rent vs. PITI curves will intersect before then making it a better choice to own than rent. This was essentially the case in the 1995-96 time frame. It was less expensive as a whole to own than rent, therefore a huge housing boom occurred.
Once prices start dropping (and it can be argued that they already have), the question is when to get in if you are waiting. What if you wait too long?
Rents never go down, while owning has relatively fixed costs (thanks to Prop 13’s cap on property taxes), so in the long haul owning is simply the right answer. I would have to agree that renting is the right move at this exact moment, but then you are stuck having to decide when the right moment is to buy. If you’re committed to a house/condo/etc, then just buy it and be done with it. In 20 years, it will be worth more than what you paid for it – probably significantly more.
