When we bought in the spring of 2002, we thought that we might be buying near the peak of the current cycle but after running many spreadsheet calculations, we thought we would be okay. After the crazy buying in the spring of 04, we KNEW we were getting close to the top. By fall of 04, we could hardly wait to list our house and cash in before things hit the skids. We were afraid that if there was a very sudden downturn, we could loose big before we could get it sold. As soon as my husband received his new set of orders, we listed our house and it closed escrow 2 months later in the spring of 05. Phew! We were soooo happy the day the money hit the bank. It turns out that we sold at or very near the peak in our neighborhood.
We’ve been renting since then. I really don’t like renting and can’t wait to have my own house again. I don’t think we will sell and rent again after the next cycle top. I’m a very unhappy renter who spends waaaay too much time looking at houses on ziprealty. I’m finding it hard to not buy when we can afford it. I have to run the numbers at least once a month in order to feel better. When you factor in the opportunity cost of the down payment, coupled with only a modest depreciation, it would be INSANE for us to buy right now.
