9 Secrets of 2009's Spring Home Buying Season

5. Long-term window: Another key risk of buying a home in today's market is that the property may lose value soon after the purchase. Richard Moody, the chief economist at Forward Capital, for example, expects home prices at the national level to continue declining into next year. In light of these conditions, Gumbinger says consumers should not purchase a home unless they plan to live in it for at least five years. "You have to look with a longer time window to allow the recovery of your costs [and] to allow the markets to recover around you," Gumbinger says. "If it’s a short window, there is probably no sense in even bothering [to buy]."

6. Buy/rent calculation: Although home prices have fallen sharply at the national level, not every market has been hit with equal force. Real estate values in certain places—say, Dallas—haven't declined nearly as precipitously as housing-boom hot spots like Phoenix. So it may still be significantly cheaper to rent than to buy property in a given market. Before you commit to buying a house, it's a good idea to determine whether or not buying is in fact cheaper than renting in your local market. To do so, Larson recommends using one of the many free rent-versus-buy calculators available online. "There is a lot of free stuff out there that can give you a general idea and that is a good place for anybody to start," he says.

7. Timing the market: Home shoppers who have located a property that meets their requirements and fits their budget should resist the temptation to hold off in hope of further price declines. Remember, although sales are slow, there are other buyers out there looking to take advantage of today's lower prices and attractive mortgage rates too. And if you wait too long for the perfect deal, you might miss out on a great one. "It's kind of like buying a stock—nobody can really pick the very bottom of the market," Moody says. "The question is, 'are you close enough [to the bottom] and is your holding period going to be long enough so that even if you buy a little bit too early, 10 or 20 years from now it won't matter?'"

8. Get those concessions: Buyers shouldn't be shy about using their leverage in the spring home buying season to get concessions from sellers. Go ahead and low-ball the asking price, see if the seller will chip in to cover closing costs or a couple months of condo fees. Just be careful not to go overboard. "Don't get carried away just because you think you can hammer somebody," says Elizabeth Blakeslee of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Washington, D.C. Overly aggressive demands "could kill the deal," she says.

9. Foreclosure inventory: Although the housing crash has caused a great deal of hardship for many Americans, it has created some tremendous opportunities for real estate shoppers. And anyone looking to buy property this spring would be remiss if they didn't at least check out the foreclosed inventory in their local market. But remember, foreclosed home buying can present legal and technical hassles that are often best handled by an experienced professional. So most foreclosed real estate buyers will be best served by contacting a real estate agent with foreclosure experience.