I know all the financial gurus will be making a 2008 forecast in the next couple of weeks.   Recession, oil prices, the dollar and the stock markets?

And, many of us will come up with our own financial and personal resolutions too.   Here's one prediction from Bankrate.com that will probably be accurate.  One of our best investment decisons-buying a home will probably require a down payment!

Buying? Bring a down payment
House prices are falling in many major markets. Your lender doesn't want to give you a big pile of money for a house that's going to be worth less than the loan balance in a few months. So your lender is going to want a cushion. The down payment is that cushion.

During the boom years, it was easy to buy a house with a down payment of 5 percent or 3 percent or even with no down payment at all. Those deals aren't as common anymore.

"I think we're going back to where 10 percent is going to be the standard for a down payment," says Mitch Ohlbaum, president of Legend Mortgage Corp., in Los Angeles.

Additional 2008 ARM and mortgage tips from Bankrate.com