Question: When is the best time to buy?

Answer: When you are ready.

I was watching a Celtics/Lakers game when a commercial came on for a financial services firm. I was barely paying attention, but then I saw the phrase: "Time; Not Timing". Great advice.

Markets will always cycle up and down and their complexities make the timing difficult to predict.  Real estate has real value, and with inflation engineered into the economy, it is destined to keep pace (upward) over the long term.

A critic once told me that stocks provided a better return than real estate, dating from the 1970's to now.  I responded that "you can't live in your stock certificates".

The concept of "home as investment" is relatively new and not universally accepted in human history and culture. Investment value, if any, is and should be secondary to the primary purpose of a house.  First and foremost, it is your home.

The investment advantages come into play over time. The focus should be on quality. Buy a quality property that will suffice as your home for the long term. Obtain quality financing that you can afford for the long term.

In my marketplace, the Twin Cities, the inventory of homes for sale, peaked about a month ago and is declining. Some say that now is the time to buy. But the best time to buy really is "when you are ready".