Are people really not trying to buy or just not qualifying to buy? Because it appears to be a great time to buy IMO.
People are afraid. If you don't have confidence in your job, you're not going to buy. It's a better time to buy than it was before, but lets say 2009 really is a crappy year for the economy. Housing may be cheaper on 12/31/2009 than it is today, and they might have a better idea of their job situation. Me and the lady are looking right now, just put an offer in last week. But prices on non-distressed properties in nice areas are still expensive here in San Diego. Houses we actually like, and non-distressed, are going for $600k-700k still (house we looked at was $575k-625k)