If your city had the weakest housing market, would you buy or rent?

[~ Jamie ~]

According to an article on Yahoo, Detroit is #1 for the weakest housing market. If you lived in an area where people couldn't give away homes for free, and houses are being foreclosed left and right, but you had to stay (for the time being) would you rent or buy? I am hesitant to invest in a house with the national housing market the way it is. A friend of my husband's bought a small house in a suburb of Detroit and invested thousands and thousands of dollars into it. I would be worried that if I needed to move, I would either lose money on the deal or wouldn't get a buyer. My mother in law has had her house up for sale for a year. My husband and I rent. Many say that is throwing money away, but in an unstable economy, it is nice to not be locked into a 30 year mortgage. Especially, when our unemployment rate is almost double the national average.
My family and my husband's family are in Detroit. I hate it here, but moving isn't in the cards yet. The unemplyment rate is just under 8%. Large corporations are leaving left and right (ie. Comerica). We just had a government shutdown which led to an increase in taxes due to the state debt. Only Louisiana is worse off than we are, and that is due to a natural disaster (Hurricane Katrina). My husband and I have both been laid off numerous times. This past time, it took me almost 4 months to find a job. It's feast or famine. Hence, my hesitation.....

[Keep On Trucking]

people always want to buy when the market is high and don't want to buy when the market is low. first of all, don't buy if you don't want to or if you're not comfortable. But if you're comfortable buying (or taking a home for really cheap/free) do it. the market will recover or the world will end. either way, you're set.