> it's a terrible time to buy real estate when interest rates are low

Just wait until interest rates start rising........you will really see real estate prices start to tumble. It's a terrible time to buy when interest rates are low, like now. Realtors just lie without shame about this fundamental fact. House prices rose as interest rates fell, and house prices will fall as interest rates rise, because a fixed monthly payment covers a smaller mortgage at a higher interest rate. Since interest rates have nowhere to go but up, prices have nowhere to go but down. The way to win the game is to have cash on hand to buy outright at a low price when others cannot borrow very much because of high interest rates. Then you get a low price, and you get capital appreciation caused by future interest rate declines. To buy at a time of low interest rates and high prices like now is a mistake.

It is far better to pay a low price with a high interest rate than a high price with a low interest rate, even if the mortgage payment is the same either way.

* A low price lets you pay it all off instead of being a debt-slave for the rest of your life.
* As interest rates rise, house prices must fall.
* Your property taxes will be lower with a low purchase price.
* Paying a high price now may trap you "under water", meaning you'll have a mortgage debt larger than the value of the house. Then you will not be able to refinance because then you'll have no equity, and will not be able to sell without a loss. Even if you get a long-term fixed rate mortgage, when rates inevitably go up the value of your property will go down. Paying a low price minimizes your damage.