Honestly? The market is going to take a shit. Buying a house in 2016 pretty much means getting locked into a mortgage until 2020. At least, that's my professional take on it, and I was exactly right in 2007.
If the market does become a giant turd again, I know that'll drop house prices. Will that make it harder or easier to get a house? If I remember correctly, the first time around, banks suddenly became a lot more strict as to who they lended loans out to. Not that I think the wife and I wouldn't qualify, just that I worry about how much harder it'd end up being.
If you can afford a house, you should buy a house. If you can only afford to buy a house because the banks are making money off of giving you a shitty loan they actually expect you to default on, you shouldn't buy a house. If you can afford to buy a house, you can afford to wait until houses are cheaper. The arithmetic is not sophisticated on this one.
Assuming you're in the US and haven't already bought a first home, the First Time Homebuyer Act and other similar smaller (state level) programs generally combine to make it stupid easy for you to get a loan. However, just cuz it's easy, doesn't mean you should. If house prices go down it'll become (more of) a buyer's market. The banks only became more strict about lending standards after the housing crisis and the issues with their lending practices became apparent - I don't think it was so much due to the housing prices going down as much as both of those 2 events happening concurrently as a result of the bigger issues going on in the economy at the time. Honestly, if housing prices go down, it should be easier to get a loan because you'd need a smaller one.
You want a buyer's market - more houses than prospective home buyers to force sellers into more competitive pricing. Is it selfish to desire favorable market conditions for major purchases, especially if we are talking about the potential biggest purchase of your life? I don't think so, I think it's smart.
Harder or easier depends on the reason for the downturn. There were at least two significant factors that made home buying so difficult last time. First, the credit crisis made borrowing of any kind (e.g. mortgage, business investment, bank to bank, etc) difficult. Second, the extreme number of foreclosures that resulted from so many people not having any equity stake in their own home made lenders too skeptical about who could afford a house. I got a mortgage in 2011. It took four months for me to get $116,000 on a house I had a 20% down payment for. Insanity. That won't happen again. For starters most people have an equity cushion now, so even when prices inevitably come down there will be far fewer people who have zero or negative equity to give them an incentive to leave. From my experience, which is only with buying two places, I would highly recommend not buying without a significant down payment. PMI is a scam. Avoid it if at all possible. Also, obviously, you get a better rate the more equity you're supplying. The same house can cost you thousands more per year if you go in with minimal down payment. Personally, I like owning my home. It's a nice feeling to be able to do what you want with the place, and serves as a de facto savings program (houses are great stores of wealth, but historically not great creators of wealth--don't forget that; it's a hugely important distinction). Good luck if you decide to buy. Remember that a home is more than just finance--it's where you live.
Yeah. Part of what is taking us so long is that I insist we save as much as possible for a down payment. The idea that we'll be paying about 50% of what the house is worth in interest alone sounds retarded and I don't really know a way around that problem other than "throw money at it." I'm trying to play it safe. I'm not a huge risk taker. Buying a house? It's an intimidating thought.From my experience, which is only with buying two places, I would highly recommend not buying without a significant down payment. PMI is a scam. Avoid it if at all possible. Also, obviously, you get a better rate the more equity you're supplying. The same house can cost you thousands more per year if you go in with minimal down payment.