that's a good point, and close to one of my considerations. if I rent a cheap place I can pay down my student loans more quickly. I have to balance what I'm paying in interest on them with the expected return on a home investment. Fortunately I am looking in a place that is developing quickly. A lot of the houses I'm looking at have gone up in price recently because the land they're on is so valuable. Knockdowns are increasingly common. That bodes well for a decent increase in the ppty value.Actually ya'll are lookin at it wrong.
Think of buying in terms of a savings account... it's all about what you can get OUT of your purchase at the end of a period of time, you weigh that against earned interest rates and that's how you figure whether it's better to rent or buy.
If you live in a flat market, you're not going to see much in terms of equity growth on your house, so you're better off with putting your money in a savings account, if you live in a hot market then the money you put into your house will actually gain value over time and you'll get a higher return on the sale of your house than a savings account.
You can live in a flat market and be pissing your money away on a mortgage just as much as you would rent.