<prompt> Human: Preface: Finance, investing, and such are still very new topics to me and arent my strengths.Right now Im in a place financially where I am quickly paying off the relatively little debt I have, and in a couple years I could have enough to put a reasonable down payment down on a small house, hopefully inaround LA. What Im wondering is, since the economy crashed a few years ago and it is still recovering, how big of a difference could it be if I have a down payment ready in two years instead of five? No one can predict exactly whats going to happen, but is today a golden time to buy because of the cheap compared to, say, 2006 prices cost of houses, where I might be losing a lot of possible investment leverage if I wait too long?I know to take the value of the market from 5 years ago with a grain of salt, but I would hate to end up saving up a ton of money only to find that the bubble has reinflated and that the 250,000 house Im currently seeing has ballooned to 400,000, knowing that the bubble could pop again soon after. A house is a long-term investment and I expect ups and downs, but clearly investing in an expensive house in 2006 was a huge mistake for many people, because it will be years before they ever see their investment pay off. How concerned I should be about that same issue in the next few years?  <response>: Youre not ready to buy a house, yet. So dont worry too much yet about when the best time to buy is. Focus on paying off the debt and after that, building up a downpayment. Im not sure what your age is and what your relationshipfamily status is, but you might be young, and in that case a lot can happen in say five years. Then if you buy three years from now, you might find yourself needing to sell your house again six years from now or so, due to expanding family size or due to you getting a much better job or project somewhere else. While the housing market situation is a factor, deciding when to buy a house should depend much more on your personal situation. Do you have enough of a downpayment? Do you have and will you have enough income? Will the house work for you for at least 7 years or so? Is your credit score ok? 