Waiting for the market to rebound?

[Anthony Z.]

I want to buy a 2 bedroom house in the bay area and live in one room while renting the other room out. However, the volatility of the housing market makes me very concerned that I am buying at the wrong time. 

On one side the market in Northern California is very frothy and it is always a bad idea to buy high. On the other hand it's also bad to wait because there is never a 'right' time. Until I take some kind of action I will just be sitting on the side lines paying 3k in rent.

Is it better to wait for the market to rebound to a lower price or to try to find a good deal now?