[Empact]

Better than the past, certainly, but by no means a sure deal. And while prices to buy are falling, so are prices to rent.

I suggest the OP use this great NYTimes tool to evaluate the buy vs. rent options: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/business/2007_BUYRENT_GRAP...

Keep in mind that the historical rent-to-buy ratio in San Francisco is something around 20x. http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/05/housing-price...

Nationwide it's 10-14x http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/05/buy-vs-rent-r...

And when you do, try to consider all the value possibilities (appreciation vs. depreciation), not just the rosy ones. Worst case scenario, the Californian government screws up its coming reorganization, and San Francisco could end up like Detroit. A more likely possibility might include more declines due to future mortgage resets and such.

Anyway, no way to know just what's coming, so it's a guess in the end, but a big purchase deserves deep consideration.

Finally, I recommend Redfin (http://www.redfin.com/city/17151/CA/San-Francisco) as a realtor, as they use the web to cut your realtor fees by thousands.