Leasing might be a good decision. With all the turmoil in the finacial markets in the country and around the world, leasing and waiting for the real estate market to come around could be a great idea for the short term. It's a good decision to make knowing that the house prices are going down, but the interest rate will probally go up and the finacial loaning institutes will get stricter. The property prices in the best locations in LA dropped about 20% while the less desirable locations have come down 50% from their highs.