Although I make around $80,000 out of school working for a large telecommunications company and my wife also works in finance we are completely priced out of the market. With an income that many envy we couldn’t even afford a tiny condo following traditional lending standards!

Be patient, build up cash and wait. You may want to look at investing in offshore companies with the cash. (dollar is likely to devalue). Many sellers are holding on hoping for a bailout. The problem is that they are against a wall. 100% financing means that they will have to sell for losses AND get a 1099 for loan forgiveness (which is taxable.). Banks have to approve the short-sale, unless the seller can pony up the cash for the difference (not likely if they used 100% financing).