I had to make a comment, being French myself. I moved to san Diego just over a year ago from NYC. I have been in the US for about 10 years, so I like to think I know the market relatively well.
My first advise is in line with everybody else: do not buy now.
Here are different remarks:
First, I am guessing you have an expatriate contract, which has a timeline associated to it. From the information you are giving, you may have a 3-year contract, which is the standard expat contract length. If you buy now, you will lose money when you try to sell your house at the end of your contract.
Secondly, you have never lived outside of France. You do not know if you will like living in the US. It is 1 thing to come on vacation. It is completely different when you live here. You may like it, but your wife or your kids may not like it. You probably do not know if you are here for the long run. If you are only here for 3 years, you are waisting your money
Third, you mention that your company will pay part of the interests if you buy a house. As you mentioned, you have no credit history, so you will not qualify for a loan, especially in the current environment. Why not negotiate that they subsidize part of your monthly rent, maybe $1,000. This will be less than what they would pay in interest, and this is a good deal for you.
Finally, keep the profit you made on your sale in Paris. You got out of the market on time. The real estate market in Europe is slowing down, there will be a contagion of the US decline all over the world. The real estate bubble was not an American thing, but happened in most markets.
I sold my place in NYC before moving to San Diego end of 06, made 30% profit in 2 years. I am now renting a place for 30% less in monthly payments than it would cost me to buy it.
