Attentive husband and father that he is, economist Peter Dawson frequently goes for neighborhood walks with his two grade-school daughters, Laurie and Katie. Max, the family's dog, usually accompanies them. It's great exercise for him and the kids, he says, and Max also has a great time.

A common vista during their walks these days in his delightful suburb about an hour train ride north of New York City?

"Lots and lots of 'For Sale' signs," Dawson said. "I've never seen so many."

Housing: buyers' market, no question

Perhaps neither have the American people. Depending on the survey, and whether you're evaluating new homes or existing homes, there's a 9-11 month supply of homes on the market, nationally, Dawson said. Typically, each category would have a 3-5 supply of homes for sale, in a healthy housing market, he said.

"The current debate in Washington is breaking down to the best way to stimulate the economy, either demand side tactics or supply side tactics. I say we have to use 'both sides' tactics," Dawson said.

MarketWatch has published a story that details the conundrum new first-time home buyers are facing in today's market. In "First-time home buyers struggle to find down-payment money," staff writer Amy Hoak tells about a middle-class family that bought a house a couple of years ago without having to put any money down. This same family, admittedly, would have trouble finding a loan today to finance their purchase.

Typically, when mortgage lending is restricted, it affects first-time owners the most because they frequently lack the funds for a down payment. According to the MarketWatch article, 45% of first-time home buyers opted for 100% financing between July 2006 and June 2007.

Experts are predicting that lenders are going to require more and more down before they're willing to lend to home buyers. To counteract stricter lending practices, check out loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). According to MarketWatch, statistics confirm the recent popularity of these loans: The FHA backed 17,773 purchase loans in December 2006; that increased to 24,817 purchase loans in December 2007.

Down payments for these types of loans are around 3% and there are even down-payment-assistance programs to help to this end.

With market prices catering, buying a home in certain localities may prove a good move.

Zack Miller is the managing editor of IsraelNewsletter.com and a former equity analyst for a leading multinational hedge fund.