"I don't live dangerously," said Ms. Goldman, 42, a nurse. "You can't live on 'what if.' "
Now, she is reaping the rewards. She and her daughter recently moved into a three-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch-style house, with a pool, after putting 20 percent down and persuading the seller to cover most of her closing costs. She paid $187,000 for a house that sold in July 2006 for $370,000.
And there are many more like her. Across Florida and other states with high numbers of foreclosures, severe declines in real estate values are reinvigorating a group of buyers previously priced out: middle-class families with steady jobs, who are often buying a home for the first time.
Figures released last week by the National Association of Realtors show that sales of existing homes across the country rose 5.1 percent in February, with much of the increase concentrated in foreclosed homes bought for less than $300,000. Even with tighter borrowing restrictions, many families used to renting are discovering that they can afford to own.
"They are the most active participants right now because they don't have the burden of having to sell their old homes," said James Diffley, a managing director at IHS Global Insight, a research firm. "You have a bunch of young people who were forced to sit on the sidelines because houses were so darn expensive, and now they're starting to come in."
Real estate agents in Arizona, Florida, Nevada and other states hit hard by the bust say they began to notice rising interest among first-time buyers a few months ago, as prices dropped by more than a third.
The addition of a tax credit of up to $8,000, part of the federal housing rescue plan passed in February, appears to be sweetening the pot for some of those buyers, while banks eager to unload foreclosed properties have also begun to offer incentives, like money for closing costs.
"A lot of the banks have adjusted their thinking," said John Ahlbrand, a real estate agent who with his wife, Ruth, owns ReMax Central in Las Vegas. "If they show they have the ability to repay -- imagine that -- then the bank helps."
In some areas, several families have pooled enough money to pay cash for homes. There are others, like Ms. Goldman, who saved enough to afford a traditional down payment and mortgage.
But in many cases, agents and loan officers say, first-time buyers are receiving loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, which allow for lower credit scores and a down payment of only 3.5 percent.
Unlike the subprime mortgages doled out a few years ago to nearly anyone who asked, F.H.A. loans include strict income requirements. Buyers must document two years of employment history with pay stubs and W-2 forms that are verified by the underwriter, and they can typically borrow only around 31 percent of their income, or 43 percent when other debt is included.
Andrea Heuson, a finance professor at the University of Miami, said the tighter restrictions should help ensure that people who buy can afford to pay what they owe -- as long as they keep their jobs.
A second risk is that these new buyers will walk away if property values continue to drop.
Jennifer Vaughn's development in Homestead is one of many where prices seem to fall by the day.
A 26-year-old first-time buyer, Ms. Vaughn closed on a three-bedroom, three-bathroom townhouse in November, paying $87,000 for the foreclosed property with an F.H.A. loan. The price was ..... far below the $261,000 the house sold for in October 2006, but a few weeks ago, a townhouse with the same layout and fancier features sold for $75,000. And a third is about to close for $65,000, said Andy Lopez, a real estate agent at Keyes Company Realtors who found Ms. Vaughn her townhouse. So already, she appears to owe more than her home is worth. Not that she minds.
"I'm going to stay for five or six years at least," Ms. Vaughn said, "and I'm sure prices will go up somewhat by then."
She also has one of the recession's safest job: she works for a collection agency. Ms. Vaughn said she could afford her $1,100 monthly payment, which includes taxes and insurance, and had already settled in.
"It's like the best feeling," she said, admiring the arches in her doorways. "I never thought I could own."
Many other buyers are equally giddy.
Julio Cesar Memeses, 45, a construction worker who is about to close on a three-bedroom home in West Phoenix for $50,000, said he and his family were thrilled to own "a piece of the American dream." He said they were not worried about making their mortgage payments because the price was so low.
Ms. Goldman, too, said she felt pleased. "It's like, wow, I accomplished something," she said.
She said she had visited 200 properties before finding her current home late one night and deciding she had to have it. Sliding open the glass door to the pool on a sunny afternoon, she said: "I love the light. That's what captured me."
Her daughter, Tiffany Munro, 14, stood beside her. "I'm, like, this is my house," Tiffany said, looking skyward, and smiling. "I get to live here."
The house, a foreclosure in the Kendall neighborhood, needed a little work. Some lights had been removed, and the fence had been painted the colors of a rainbow. Tiffany insisted that the fence be repainted white ("like white picket fences in the old movies," she said).
Tiffany also asked permission to paint her bedroom wall with a mural of her own design -- a drawing with dozens of small hearts.
In all, Ms. Goldman said she spent about $6,000 fixing up the house. Like Ms. Vaughn, Ms. Goldman said she did not worry about declining prices because she had no plans to leave.
Asked if she felt vindicated -- rewarded for saving when so many others spent -- she said no. "It's sad that for me to buy a house, the economy had to be like it is," she said.
Sitting on her couch, overlooking the pool, Ms. Goldman said she feared that the drop in prices would draw back the same investors who created the housing bubble in the first place. Real estate agents said this was already happening, even as the wave of foreclosures and evicted families would most likely continue.
"It's not worth it in the end," Ms. Goldman said, adding, "It's unfortunate that I have to build my happiness on top of tears."
Credits: Damien Cave. New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Apr 3, 2009. pg. A.1
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