Based on the way home prices are moving under your mattress would provide a better

interest rate than investing in real estate.

savings accountm, yielding about 5% annually. The other 30% I let ride in index funds. My hope is

that the net gain will be somewhere in the 6.5%-7% range.
I figure getting that return on my

money is better than possibly taking a loss or a small gain in 2007.

At the end of 2007, if

things have really taken a dip, I plan on testing the waters a bit and possibly making some lowball

offers. I know sellers often find this insulting but I would go out and make several offers 20%

below asking price and see if anything sticks. If not, no worries.

By the time I buy, I

could potentially have 30-35% to put down. I would sleep quite well at night knowing I have that

much equity to start with.

I honestly don’t know how people can live paycheck to paycheck

simply paying for their home. That would give me ulcers.

I hear a lot of people say banks

encourage you to overextend yourself on a mortgage. Personally, I would never go beyond the 28% of

gross income threshold. As a result, I may be forced to move out of the area I’ve lived in my

whole life.

Based only on my own observations, a lot of young intelligent people are

getting the hell out of Boston lately. I personally worked with 4 people in their 20’s who fled

the state for more affordable areas.

I’m not as pessimistic as others, but I too have the 20%, yet I think the spring will be a great

time to start looking. I plan on staying for at least 5 years wherever I buy, so even if there’s a

further dip in 07 and things start to recover in 08, I don’t see it affecting me enough to put off

buying for another year.

the same thing as Q — I have the 20% downpayment just sitting in a bank, but I’ll be starting a

new lease in 2/07 instead of purchasing a home like I had planned earlier this year. If house

prices remain flat like most economists are predicting, then at least I’ll be earning an extra

$5000 bank interest over the next year on my money.

buyer, I would probably do the same unless I saw something I loved for the right

price.

However, letting money sit in savings is certainly not going to earn you any real

interest. I would assume you are not tying it down into IRA or what not- in case you do find the

right place to jump in – so the basic savings account is a total non-factor in the grand scheme of

things.