[quote=Looking2buysoon] I pay $1,455 rent each month for a one bedroom apartment in Kearny Mesa….I only have arond 2k in savings. Bring home just under 4,500 a month after taxes, medical and 401k.
I feel like if I dont buy something now prices are going to go up and I wont be able to afford anything west of the 15 freeway.[/quote]
L2B, you will not have much in the way of monthly fiscal wiggle room if you buy a $300,000 property. You may well end up like many people in America with their real estate purchase feeling like an onerous burden instead of a home.
Your last line is very telling, but keep in mind that there have been millions of Americans who felt the same way at the height of the housing boom and who overextended themselves financially to achieve home ownership. A large percentage of these people found out who really owned their homes when they were unable to make the payments, and foreclosure proceedings were initiated against them.
As I mentioned earlier, prices have been falling since 2007, and no one is able to say for sure when they are going to start going in the other direction or whether they will keep going up once they do. Some experts are predicting several more years of declining prices; even the optimistic ones are being more cautious in making predictions than they did in 2009 or 2010.
However, when prices do begin to rise again, they will not rise at the same rate as they did in 2003, 2004, and 2005. So, as I mentioned, use this time to accumulate some money and educate yourself, so that when prices do start to go up, you’ll be in a position to make some well-thought-out moves.
