My fiance and I are in that group. Been actively looking for 6 months and there's a lot of stupid money being thrown around for homes. We only offered on one house, offered $20k over asking and it sold for $35k over asking. House wasn't worth that number but it's happening every day. Not sure what's worse...burning money in rent every month or grossly overspending on the house/ mortgage.
Sometimes renting saves you money in the end.
If I was in your position right now, I'd try to rent month to month and continue to save/wait for the market pullback.
I
think you'll see an increase in supply of homes towards the end of 2021. Foreclosure moratorium ends in on June 30th and some attorneys I know that work in foreclosure believe there could be an explosion of filings if these banks don't agree to loan modifications. Basically, it could work out where you see some foreclosures or short sales hitting the market towards the end of the year. A foreclosure boom should bring the prices down as well.
People with children are less inclined to buy once the school year starts so you could see a slight decrease in demand as we get closer to August. That can cut both ways as people with children are less inclined to sell during the school year but I think it typically reduces demand more than supply.
My opinion, which isn't worth much, is focus less on money you are theoretically losing paying rent and focus more on buying at the right time, saving and buying a home you can afford on one income.
One more thing - it takes some nerve and it's not likely to work out but if you like or want a home that is not currently listed, knock on their door and tell them that you are interested in buying it if they ever decide to sell. Just tell them that you like their home and the community. At best, they may take you up on the offer, at worst they'll think you're insane. I've done this a few times and nobody has ever been offended b/c I liked their home enough to make an offer.
I bought a house in January of 2021 doing something like this. A friend of mine noticed moving trucks at a house near his and the next day a contractor was there doing some work. I went over to the place and the contractor told me he was going to flip the place. I asked him to buy it as is and he agreed. I saved myself commission fees, was able to negotiate price without competition, he made some money and I got the place for a great price given the market.
