When to buy?

As the housing market has gone up and down I keep wondering, how do you know when to buy? I'm not alone in this, I've talked to several like-minded peers and they too wonder, where do we go from here?

This article in the New York Times helped to answer some questions, and at lease puts down a foundation of the beginning steps to take towards becoming a homeowner. I'm going to check out annualcreditreport.com and see what my credit score is, though I'm hesitant to do it, afraid of what it may tell me. What if I'm not only $35K short of a down payment but also hundreds of credit score points away from qualifying form the a killer 4.5% interest rate on a mortgage?