History shows an approximate 8-10 year cycle for the last four decades. Most experts will say that the last bottom was in 1988- 1989, and the top may have been reached in early 1994. That's not to say it will fall all the way, but prices have certainly been tempered since interest rates jumped in the summer of 1994. The good news for buyers is that the pause has created an imbalance between home supply and demand. Ask your Prudential Alamo Realtor about where the houses are sitting unsold, and take advantage of the slowdown.
Financing is a game.
Play it to your advantage. Then buy your money commitment based on that estimate. Then buy five or seven year money. Buy an ARM, and save thousands. Before the end of 1998, the lenders will make a 30 year fixed rate mortgage so expensive, relative to shorter risk vehicles, that it will fade from popularity.