By YOUNG MONEY Staff
31 August 2010

The following advice, it's important to note, is bad for the economy. However, it might be good for you. If you're a young worker or entrepreneur considering purchasing a home, because mortgage rates and prices are so low, you should probably reconsider.

Economists and analysts argue about whether the economy as a whole is entering a debt-deflation spiral. Housing, though, is definitely stuck in one - and it's bad. Nationally, Americans owe over $11 trillion in mortgage debt, almost four times more than they did a decade ago. The price of a new home is still above the Case-Shiller historical average, by as much as 30 or 40 percent.

The result has been plunging home prices over the past three or four years. Many have seen their equity wiped out. However, economists project that over the next half-decade, housing prices are going to fall even further.

Everyone is trying to sell, and no one wants to buy. This creates deflation, which hurts a lot of people - but makes for a great buyer's market. Today's great deal could be tomorrow's absurdly overpriced purchase.

If you have the assets and the inclination to buy a house, wait. Save up for a bigger down-payment, pay down any existing debts, and when the time is right, lock in a mortgage at historically low interest rates.

Down the line, you won't regret it.