...and you thought Tysons had traffic now.

[WRXtranceformed]

investing your money into something and not throwing it away always always always gives the edge to buying your own home.

Thats incorrect, and the #1 misconception about buying vs. renting.
When you buy, you pay an enormous amount of interest to the bank. IIRC for the first 5 years or so of a $3k mortgage payment you are paying $2650 to the bank and only $350 of actual principal, gained equity. This makes sense when you have an agressive market with high appreciation. However when the market is flat, you really are just throwing that interest away. And the interest is a lot more than rent, like RJ said you have to pay to live.

As a renter, you "throw away" around $600-$800 a month. In this market, it would be a smarter financial move to take that difference of $2k and invest it or save it for a higher initial down payment when the market turns back around.

Sure you are, but over the years that interest payment gets less and less as you pay off the principle. If you're not going to live in that house that long, shoot for a 5 year I/O with a lower rate so that you can build that equity without having a huge mortgage payment. Now is the time to buy, this is the best the market will be for buyer for a long time. Prices are only going uphill, unless there is a huge disaster or other unforseen event.

Renting to save money to use as a down payment is fine, but you've got to be realistic and understanding as to what the market is doing. This isn't just propaganda from someone who sells homes for a living, this is fact. If you wait and wait and wait for the market to "bottom out" you're going to wait forever and miss out on the chance to own your own home and make some money while doing it.

What happens after that 5 years if by the grace of God your house doesn't appreciate at all in value? (which in the DC area would be extremely surprising, especially with home prices the way they are now) You can refinance. You'll have to pay new closing costs, but you're still in your home and you can buy some time until your home appreciates to where you want it to be, or you can stay there if you really love it.

I do this every day for people. There are tons of programs out there for first time homebuyers that make the experience less painful. That, combined with renters if you need them, makes homebuying the way to go if you have the funds for a downpayment (right now, most builders will even help you with the majority or all of your closing costs). Renters are actually in a BETTER boat than current homeowners because they don't need to sell a home in order to purchase.