I wonder how many of them really want to buy a house. I don't mean bitch about it, I mean legitimately try with realistic expectations. What I do see is people that insist they couldn't possibly save a down payment, when I can personally see them spending 3x more on total bullshit or careless purchases than I'm willing, and I'm 20 years older and have my own house and other properties in my pocket. Or they refuse to live anywhere that isn't a nearly new mansion. There's a lot on the market right now around here that would provide a decent place to live that are good enough areas to let your kids play outside without getting shot in a drive by.

That's only based on areas I know, which are red state suburbs. Yeah, it's a lot worse than it was, but just at a glance seems to be improving. Prices are falling slowly too, and that's what I think needs to happen. Free government money lending is not the answer. It's also still in a weird spot where it's really a bad deal to buy versus the cost of rent, particularly if you think of it on a monthly payment basis. I have rental property and it's gotten tougher to make money. I'm not a megacorp and answer only to myself, so I've been content scraping just above break even on them lately. If the tenants leave in either of my properties, I likely put them up for sale though. Moreso because I want the cash for something else than rental houses though.