My wife and I bought our first home in OC at the end of ’97 after the last RE bubble. The biggest problem with ‘not’ being a knife-catcher and just in front of the up-turn was the selection of homes. We had very few nice homes in our price range. Basically, leftovers… We choose the best one we could. We upgraded to a larger home (wife’s choice, not mine) in ’06 (5.5% Jumbo 30yr fixed >20% down) and sold our first home this year with a nice profit.
If I was able to do over, I would think I would rather knife-catch a “little” with home I really love, instead of save a “little” and settle for what is left. I was not in a position to buy a home prior to ’97.
IMO the best would be at the beginning of the bottom-flat = Best Selection, Best Price… Of course the biggest problem is knowing when that is…
I been reading this site for about 6 months or so…
I’ve had the same feelings about this RE market being overheated since at least 2002, maybe even earlier. My last house saw highs in the $350k (’89) range before falling to th $150k (’95) range. After selling at $590k, my neighborhood is down to about $450 or less (24%). I would not bet against a 50% drop from the highs again.
Even for rational persons, once the numbers start to line up, it will become an emotional decision as always…
