And putting down higher cash into a rental that is going to cash flow/appreciate/get the debt paid down at a 3-4% cash yield is infinitely better than waiting on the sidelines for a year while prices get higher and yields get squeezed even more.  

Most homebuyers still on sidelines.- Tangent!

Lots of dry powder on the sidelines and high price expectations that have normalized in this rising interest rate market the further south you go.

Some may argue we should just sit on the sidelines for a bit or change our underwriting, but we are not doing either.

You can always find better deal but sitting on the sideline to find the "perfect" deal on your first one is a major reason people never get started.

I am very long on this market and have assets in play, but the smart money is on the sidelines right now.

Rates may drop (and likely will drop throughout 2024), but with that will come more buyers who've sat on the sidelines, meaning more competition and higher prices.

And then there's Mr Murphy waiting on the sidelines.....Be smart AND go with your gut....

So you either have to have a really strong down a great job that isn't going there anywhere in the recession and you are an extremely qualified buyer and you're purchasing a home that's in a really super-duper area that's a little over exaggerated but at the end of the day, the goal of the lender's right now is to slow the pace of the market down by restricting lending and putting the money on the sideline.

Mostly it is a sideline to a handyman/cleaning/realty business, and it shows.