Jacque

When the market bottoms out? Which market are you referring to? A lot of Sydney suburbs have had nil growth for the last 5-6 yrs and are starting to come good now, along with the stimulus of the lowest interest rates in 47 yrs and a completely different economy that so far seems to be holding up pretty well compared to the UK and US. In fact, there are some suburbs that have never experienced negative growth (or minimal) due to their populations and level of demand, and probably never will. Our current high rents are also assisting, though investors are still not as active as our govt would like. (Give them some decent breaks on stamp duty however and they might re-emerge out of the woodwork!)

I must say that I've heard many ppl use this same comment about waiting until the market drops 30-40% before buying. Professor Keen certainly caused a media sensation with his comments about such drops, but so far it hasn't happened. Instead, the increased FHB grants have artificially stimulated one sector of the market instead, having a flow on effect to the next price bracket as well, which in turn affects many more buyers than just the FHB's.

Ideally, you should buy WHEN YOU CAN AFFORD IT. Don't wait for price drops that may never happen or rent when the repayments on a mortgage are comparable. There's always opportunities out there in the RE world- you've just got to be out there and in it to get the best deals!