Real estate: When is a good time to buy?

Some interesting comments from Gavin Noronha on haloscan.

I often wondered what the anecdotal signs were that pessimism was at its peak in the housing market and I have come up with these

1. Follow the professionals: If the builders who have completed condominiums find they cannot sell and instead rent them out as apartments it is a good time to buy
2. Sellers resign to getting lower prices: If many sellers are getting lower prices than they paid for their homes prices have reached their bottom. In 1995 about 30% of sellers in California sold homes for lower prices than they bought them
3. Real Estate agents are pessimistic: A friend who bought a home in the mid-nineties in the Bay Area said that realtors predicted that prices would only rise 1%-2% a year.
4. The mortgage payment-rent ratio is close to 1: is A relative who bought a small home in San Jose slightly larger in size than the apartment she was renting in the mid-nineties said the mortgage payment was about 25% more than her rent.
5. There are forced sellers in the market: Foreclosures were at a peak in California around 1995-1996.

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