Patrick J. Star said:
I'm actually curious to hear from people who purchased a home --- do you still pay attention to listings and prices much? Or at all? I look back to how obsessed I was with home prices for the 5 years leading up to our fall 2010 purchase, and could not be further from that place now.
Which makes another point --- I see so many people discussing their home search here who are completely obsessed with buying at the absolute lowest price and perfect rate....and while all that is fine, in my opinion focusing on the absolute perfect HOME is more important. It is probably very rare that all things will align for you: Perfect home, perfect timing, and perfect pricing. As someone that has been through the experience and now 18 months removed from it, I can confirm getting the perfect home (your dream home) will far outweigh those other factors in the long run. As long as you buy something you can truly afford.
We purchased toward the end of the 2010 rally, when prices took a little bounce. Although I don't pay much attention to either current listings or Zillow, I'd say our home has lost at least another 5% since then. But you know, I really could care less. Because it was the perfect home in the perfect location and at the perfect time. We stumbled into a pretty good interest rate in fall 2010 as well, but that was not at all our deciding factor. It was just our time, and this was just our house.
So if you have not purchased yet, certainly pay attention to pricing --- but not at the cost of the home you want. Get the home you love, and you will be happy with the price you paid as long as you can afford it. But I could see settling or compromising on the home just to save a few bucks up front may have the potential to leave you with some buyers remorse regardless of how good a "deal" you got.