If you have stable finances and some good funds for a down payment, it's a good time to buy. Prices are dropping and you can get more house for the money, especially if someone is in a bind and needs to sell fast.
I still love owning my own home. I think right now with the economy it would be easier to rent. IF we didn't buy our home when we did we probably wouldn't have it. I just can't see paying for something that you can't do anything to. When we rented we couldn't even get a dog, I don't like someone to tell me what to do in my own house.
I don't even want to say what I'm paying in rent - but the trade off is a substantial income boost which outweighs the negatives. I will say that I plan on making an investment into a home in the not so distant future because I hate thinking that I'm paying a bill rather than making an investment.
We purchased our home over three years ago; but if we hadn't I couldn't justify buying a home with the current state of the economy and the horrible housing market.