There are new taxes for homeowners in 2013 but it applies to selling your home and not to buying, and those who had short-saled or were foreclosed upon will see a higher tax burden as that forgiveness is seen as income and becomes taxable beginning January 1.

IMO, it's a good time. DW and I applied for our first home in early December a couple of years ago, signed a contract on a home on Christmas Eve,  and closed at the end of January. It was a better time because there were less buyers, more attention with the lender, and there were plenty of homes on the market at that time and we leisurely shopped until we found our home.