As I sorted a stack of papers this week, I found a February 2008 MLS print-out, advertising a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home, 3000 sq ft , and a 3 car garage. Because it was a short-sale, according to the agent, the listing price was only $300,000.

Fast forward to November 2008. A 6 bedroom, 4 bathroom, 3800  sq ft, 3 car garage home in the same neighborhood is listed at $175,000. That's what a glut of foreclosures has done to the area.

Arizona foreclosure rates skyrocketed this year, while housing prices fell like a discarded first stage.  1 in every 149 Arizona properties received a foreclosure filing in October 2008. Arizona only has half as many as #1 Nevada (for 22 consecutive months), where 1 in 74 properties had foreclosure filings last month.  Compare that with the national rate for October 2008: 1 in 452 properties.

Now is definitely the time to purchase a home, many pundits say, because the market has bottomed out and it will only get better from here. The housing market's sure to bounce back soon. Even Schoolhouse Rock! taught me that Wall Street rule: Buy low, sell high, take your piece of the pie.

Given all of that, why do I feel guilty when I think about grabbing that serving knife? Prices may be low at the expense of others, but it's not as if I dug a pit they fell into. People losing their homes, others losing home value (an example of the latter--a friend put more down on her house than some of the comps are selling for these days), there isn't anything I can do about it. The local auctions are still going to take place on the steps of the Maricopa County Courthouse; weekly events so commonplace that the circle of investors/trustees know each other on a first name basis, chatting with each other between the official readings & biddings on the pages of properties up for sale that day.

I have little doubt that my self-interest will prevail in the end, however, any hesitation swallowed up by the delights of the "Modern Mini-Mansion" I can suddenly afford, well below the 1/3 of net income threshold advocated by conservative financial planners. I'm supposed to be frugal, right? Imaging how much room I'll have for my year's supply!

Oh, and don't talk to me about the poor farm workers picking my fresh fruit and veggies right now. It looks like I'm in the mood for some guilt-free strawberry pie, after all.