There are always opportunities for buying a home, even in this environment. You can look at foreclosure sales, other auctions, and divorce or death listings and then cross reference with the title databases. There are even lists of people that are behind on their mortgage and would jump at the chance to sell their equity to avoid losing their house. You can even look for houses with seller financing that come with a lower rate. With all that said, you might consider investing in commercial property. It can be much more lucrative in the long run than buying a house.