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Timing is of the essence when you buy a house

Timing Your Purchase to the Market Cycle

One problem when you try to time your purchase with the business cycle is that even experts have difficulties with properly predicting the future economy. Even when they can, the real estate market doesn’t have to be aligned with the stock market or the economy as a whole.
If the economy is developing, interest rates are typically higher. The outcome is that fewer people can afford houses. When the economy slows down, interest rates decrease, the “affordability index” rises and more people can afford houses.
Therefore, this cycle isn’t really synchronized with the rest of the economy. Additionally, it is influenced by the number of people employed, whether they are well-paying jobs, and consumer outlook for the future. All these issues make it difficult to predict if the housing market is going to develop or bust.

Why You Should Not Wait to Purchase a Home

People who already own a home typically need to sell it in order to come up with the down payment for their next house.  Even if that is not the case, they would have to carry the debt and obligations on two homes at the same time.  This can contribute to financial hardship, even when you rent out the previous house.  There are maintenance costs, renters don’t always make their payments on time, the rent may not cover the mortgage and other costs, and in some cases the property may be vacant.
Therefore, if you are a move-up buyer and intend to buy your next home during a depressed market, you normally have to sell your current home during that same depressed market.  If you want to sell during a boom, then you also have to purchase during the same boom