Lets buy a house!

Does it make since to buy a house in this market, with the questionable appreciation? That is what I have been wondering lately. I’m kind of stuck in a house whose value had dropped quite a bit. The main reason I purchased the house was for tax purposes and I’m wondering if it was a bad choice. I started the arduous process of creating an excel spreadsheet to calculate if it was really worth it. I started googling something to finish my spreadsheet and found exactly what I wanted at Dinky Town… Check it out http://www.dinkytown.net/java/MortgageRentvsBuy.html you have to love the internet. So after making up some numbers I will apparently break even from my house in 4.8 years. Does that mean since I have lived here 2 years I only have 2.8 years left? Well since I put a positive appreciation, probably not. I think I’m down 5-10% on my home so it will take a while to just break even… Well who knows what will happen to the real estate market? I’m sure in two years prices will be going back up. Right now investors are picking up some of the great deals out there. Now is the time to have cash on hand, picking up deals on houses, stocks, heck even electronics.
Do I regret the house purchase? Sure, I could have the same house right now for $20,000 less. The calculator doesn’t really take into account all of the work home ownership demands, of course there are also positive feelings you get from homeownership which can’t be calculated either. But, I’m still better off than a lot of people, I can afford my mortgage, I still have my job (which I love to complain about) and a great family. My biggest complaint right now is the amount of paperwork I have to do just to see if I can refinance my house, thanks to all the new bailout plans. I really feel bad for those people in much less favorable conditions right now, because of this market, but I’m very thankful for what I have.
For those debating the purchase of a home right now, I think this is a fantastic time and while we may not be at the bottom, we are close and with the extra tax benefits it would be hard to pass up this opportunity.