Along with all the other things that buying a home represents, it's an act of faith that the purchase will be a good deal. No one plunks down their hard-earned cash at the settlement table and says, "Boy, what a lousy idea this is!" (Well -- very few, at least.)
But there are apparently a lot of buyers going in with the expectation that home prices are not poised to start rebounding in the immediate future.
Century 21 said this week that it polled first-time buyers, and 48 percent of them said they think prices will rise over the next year. Which, if my mad math skillz are not failing me, means 52 percent think prices won't rise over the next year at the very least.
First-time sellers, Century 21 said, are slightly more optimistic. Fifty-three percent expect prices to rise within the next year.
Here's a discussion point: If you think prices have farther to fall, does it make sense to buy now? When do lifestyle considerations (like, "I'm so sick of leases") outweigh financial considerations (like, "Buy low, sell high")?
Other tidbits from the Century 21 poll:
--84 percent of first-time buyers say they're aware of the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-timers, and 64 percent of those in the market to buy for the first time say they qualify
--Just as many first-time sellers say they're aware of the $6,500 credit for repeat buyers who have owned their homes for at least five years of the last eight, but just 33 percent say they qualify
Here, weigh in on prices in this just-for-you Wonk poll: