Yesterday, I read a great article in the Wall Street Journal by Jonathan Clements (3/12/2008) about taking advantage of the drop in home prices when you already own a home, BUT do not want to get into the rental business.  He suggested three things:  1.) Buy a bigger home.  You may lose a little on the "sell" side, but you'll get much more home for the money on the "buy" side; 2.)  Buy a vacation home.  Some people may want to buy a second home in anticipation of retirement.  Use the vacation home now and during retirement.  Don't expect to sell in the near term, however, and make money.  Be ready and able to hold on to this second home.  3.)  Help adult children buy a home if they are currently renting.  This is a great time for first time home buyers to buy.  You could "gift" the money to them or loan them the money.  Jonathan Clements suggests that you do not view this as an "investment", but "a life-style choice"; "crunch" the numbers and budget accordingly to account for other costs such as "taxes, utilities, insurance, etc."; and continue contributing to your retirement fund.

This might be good information for any buyer who is looking at how to benefit from the downturn in the housing market.  This topic seems to come up alot.  Many buyers want to buy additional real estate, but don't want to own and manage income properties. 

As a side note, the Wall Street Journal has recently had many good articles relevant to real estate.  If you don't have a subscription, you should try it out.