No matter how bad the housing market has been. I have never lost $80,000 on a house in one day. Unfortunately a number of my friends did just that lost over $80,000 in one day. Now I know that’s unusual and if you leave your portfolio along it will probably come back over the long term if you were invested in good companies.

Buying a home now is a wise decision. The stock market is going to be volatile for some time and home interest rates have not been this low since the 70's.  There was an excellent article in "Smart Money" by Jillian Mincer, "Forget the Market. Buy A Home". We all need somewhere to live and at these interest rates if you have money buy now. Pay the home off as soon as possible if you can afford a 15 year loan due it even better a 10 year loan. If not, that’s ok too.