Think twice! The market just collapsed and you know its gonna be big stiff for couple of years. But there is another thing that concerns me the most. This nation runs on a economy solely based on credit. The average annual credit card debt per household (sorry forgot the source) in this country ranges from $4000 to $8000. Now if the congress dosent do something about it the nations economy would surely collaps. If that happens then america would go down the drain. You just saw recently real estate business trumbling. If congress dosent do something to restrict these aggressive lenders to stop risky lending and trying to make money out of middle class americans then the whole things is going to shake. Thus, if i were you i would rather let my slow saving increase instead of gambling my hard earned $. Yeah when it comes to real estate location is improtant. Consult your local relator about these the fluctuation in price and what would be a proper thing to do. Real estate is no longer considered investment now, it dosent work the way it's supposed to be back then... Well i wish you a good luck.

hmmm...I have to disagree with you yekloyatri. Well, Yes housing market just shaked due to sub prime loans but if you have good credit then these houses in the market for foreclosure gives chance of finding cheaper house and bargaining would work this time more than ever. BUT you need to have really good credit cause Banks are scared to lend money to risky creditors. This is buying market rather than selling.If you have confidence in your steady income i do not see why it would be harm to buy a house.But go for fixed rate interest rather than adjustable. Also, bank of America and Citi just bailed two big mortgage company - countywide and GMAC .See they all work together they are all commission agents. And more over US is not going to just watch and see this market going down the drain. Be Optimistic Buy home !

As I happen to live about an hour out of New York City, I know a little bit about this area's real estate market. Here's what I know. If you are buying a property in the City, meaning Manhattan Island, it is almost guaranteed that you will not lose money. However, condominiums (there are almost no houses left in Big Apple) are very expensive, as you might already know. A two bedroom 1.5 bath will easily cost anywhere from half a Mil to 800K in most livable parts of the island. If you go up to the Upper West or even East side, don't expect anything for less than a Mil. I would avoid Bronx, Brooklyn and even Queens, but that is just me. You might like it there. If you venture out a bit, say into New Jersey, there are lot of neighborhoods that are very livable. But I suggest you live near the NJ Transit train station as the traffic can be horrendous if you have to commute to work in the City. For around 600K, about the same price you would fork over for a tiny condo in Manhattan, you can get a decent single family home in a town such as Summit, New Providence, Berkeley Heights, etc. And the home prices tend to go up in these parts, even during recession, because of the relatively close proximity to NYC (1 hour by train) and the excellent schools. As for the time to buy, I would say, if you plan to live in the house for at least 5 years, buy now. Interest rates are relatively low. Housing prices are almost at rock bottom. Provided that you have good credit (above 720 Fico score), steady and sufficient income with the history of same for past few years, have enough saved to put 20% down payment (or at least 10%), you can easily find a good home loan at around 6% interest rate. If you are looking to sell, I would say wait at least until latter half of 2009 when the real estate market is estimated to pick up. I am not a realtor, this is just from my own experience. So if you are serious, it might behoove you to do some research and get yourself a real estate agent (a good one, mind you, as there are many who are just after the commission).

Nice Sgy...very informative....above all... I appreciate your line, 'real estate market is estimated to pick up'. Most of the folks here, as I have noticed in the threads related to investment, would have written....'real estate market will pick up in 2009'.

As per the market sentiment as of today with the USD crashing to new lows, the consensus is that the Fed may lower the Fed funds by as much as 50 basis pts. Wait until Sept 18th for the FOMC meeting and the interest rate release. You'd know exactly where the economy's heading then. Also, a decrease in a mere 50 basis pts on your mortgage on a decent 1 family in NY (650K = approx $140 per month). So I'd advise you to wait until next week. BTW, What I say to all my friends is that the right time to buy is definitely not now. Wait to see prices being depressed a little further until about the end of this year as the sub-prime mess is still not over. Its still a buyer's market out there and until congress bails out the ones stuck under the sub-prime fiasco or changes the current strict regulations for obtaing a mortgage, this definitely won't change.

Talk about some help, this is a good one. Guys, how about in some places, the crash has not affect on the price. Well, I just happend to be in one of the place. So far, what I've followed the local news and checked prices, the price of a condo (can't afford to buy a house right now) has not changed. With all said, the affect of the crash and the price drop doesn't affect here. So what are the things for me to consider, buy it now or wait? Thanks guys.

Thanks guys, It is true that market is down or housing business was unnecessarily booming up than it supposed to be. It is why we have seen a lot of foreclosure houses are available in the market. Even Jews people in Manhattan are in dilemma, they own over 75% houses of NYC. We can’t predict the US economic for 2009, but all I see is that buying foreclosure house which has at least 50K or more equity won't be a bad idea. One of the real state brokers whom I know very well told me to buy a foreclosure house, and later on refinances. I don't know much about this stuff, but I have an offer....

Bob Marley, the sub-prime issue is bound to blossom all over nation as it was everywhere form New Mexico to Alaska that risky loans and people with insufficient paperwork were being approved by unscrupulous mortgage-brokers and mortgage banks. These easy to obtain mortgages in effect raised the prices of all properties as the demand was way too high. Fast forward unto today: The whole scenario has changed. You need perfect credit these days to get any mortgage (and they check the entire A-Z paperwork required). Most people applying aren't qualifying at all. What does this mean? Lower housing prices. Why?? As we're seeing that even the peeps who wanna buy are not being approved and most of the investors who flipped thier azzez out when the maket was hot are all down and out. The demand is expected (and has) to go down a lot...Also, look for an increase in foreclosures pretty soon since most of these dum-azzez who took the ARMs or variable rate mortgages will not qualify to refinance at a better rate (no way are they gonna get any more ARMs). To refinance, its the same as taking out a new mortgage, so all the paperwork has to be processed again (and if the credit score/debt to income ratio has changed, it could be a prob).

If you plan to buy a property anyway (giving a rats azz to fundamentals), you need all the luck you can to even qualify for a decent rate on the mortgage. As per my suggestion on the earlier post, wait until the end of this year as the sub-prime fiasco still hasn't seeped through the enitre economy as yet.

Samsar, Thanks and I was going to do the same.Wait and keep up with the news.