I suck at math, which is why I went to law school rather than business school, a decision I still periodically regret.  So I am eternally grateful to Charles Dailey for posting this link to HIS post on one of my comment pages.  It QUANTIFIES the cost of waiting to purchase a $125,000-$250,000 home, assuming that the buyer (i) misses the tax credit window; and (ii) the interest rate on the mortgage increases 1/2 point, such as to 5.5% from 5.0%. 

Ouch.  I knew it wasn't a small number, but $13,928.74 to $19,857.47 is a lot of money.  Like, buying-a-car-kinda money.  And this just assumes a 1/2 point interest rate increase.  If the interest rate increased more than that, we'd be getting into high-performance-German-car-kinda money.

So don't miss the chance because you think you have plenty of time.  No time like the present, folks.