Sidelined home buyers frozen by fears

By Julie Haviv

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home prices have plunged by 10 percent or more in some parts of the United States and interest rates on mortgages are at enticing levels, but many potential buyers are waiting for prices to fall further.

This psychology is helping prevent the hard-hit home market -- suffering one of its worst downturns in history -- from recovering, just as the spring, the peak home buying season, gets underway.

Rochelle Getzler, a housewife in Nassau County, outside New York city, and her husband, Abraham, have been on the fence for nearly a year, waiting for an opportune time to buy.

"I think it is too risky to buy right now," she said. "Yes, prices have come down, but they have come down from extremely high levels."

As is the case with a growing number of Americans, the Getzlers are also feeling the pinch of a weak U.S. economy: Abraham lost his job of over 20 years as a computer technician due to his company's efforts to cut costs.

Sharply higher gas and oil prices are also taking a toll on their monthly expenses.

"We have little wiggle room right now," she said.

But for the Getzlers, patience is a virtue.