I think that your concern is natural. My advice would be as follows… if you love the home and can afford it, then move forward. I would expect that the area will continue to depreciate, especially for homes in that price range and above. I have some clients in a very similar situation. They had been looking for about 3 years in Kensington and Mission Hills. They ended up buying a home in Mission Hills similar to your price. In the past 3 years they submitted offers on 7 homes and were either outbid or unsuccessful. In one case they backed out in escrow. They ended up spending more then they wanted. They acknowledged that they most likely overpayed for the home. Conversely they love the place and have a much different lifestyle then they used to have in Talmadge which they liked alot. They also acknowledge that if they waited another year they may have saved money. They also acknowledge that they had a very hard time finding homes they loved. 7 offers in 3 years is not alot and we probably viewed about 100 homes in that timeframe.
So I am not gonna tell you that you got a great deal or a stinker deal. Hard for me to say because there is a variance on the RIM and potential abounds with many of those homes but so does disrepair.
What you really need to reconcile more is not what others think, and maybe not whether you are overpaying because many times you may HAVE to overpay to get exactly what you want WHEN you want it. Yes you probably CAN save money if you wait. How long you will have to wait is another question. Anyone that ever says you will NEVER get a deal like this again or other inane statements really is not doing you a service.
So…. forget what others think… if you really worry about the numbers have your agent give you a full blown comp analysis with the solds in the area and also look at expireds and cancelleds. If you love it and can afford it, and can tolerate depreciation you will be okay. If not… there will always be another one.
