As usial TG hit the nail on the head. I’m itching to buy myself as well, and am currently obsessing over the listings in the Northern DC suburbs, much like TG was about 6 months ago. I am absolutely planning to buy next month. Why? Because the houses I’m looking at are all 3500-6000 sf homes on 1-2 acres that are selling from 550-800K. Rents for houses like this range from $2500-$4000/month. With 20% down I’m pretty much at rental parity and don’t have to worry about a slumlord pocketing my rent money and not paying the mortgage.

Bottom line, I need a place to live. Buying in this market CAN make sense. Will I lose some of my down money? Probably, but I still need to live somewhere, and housing IS an expense, whether you rent or buy. I’m hoping we finally get away from housing as purely an investment and not the necessity it truly is.

By the way, this idea is dying awfully hard. I’m working with an agent back there, and in the first discussion I had with him he asked how long I was planning to stay in the area. I responded a minimum of three years, possibly much longer. He said “oh good, by then you ought to be able to make some money!” Sigh. Lots of Kool Aid in Maryland too.