FWIW, the editors at the Economist think we are on the verge of a housing bubble-burst. They base their analysis primarily on the ratio of rental pricing versus home purchase costs. They liken rents to share dividends and purchases to buying the shares and say that the "P/E" ratio is sky-high because rents are so low compared to prices, just waiting for an external event to trigger a collapse and that some markets in other countries have already begun collapsing.

So... instead buying, you might consider renting for a couple of years to see where things are going. Which should have the side effect of making the higher-priced areas more affordable for now.