I guess we're luckier than some since the home prices in my immediate neighborhood have held up a lot better than average. Based on recent local sales, I believe I could still get at least the low end of what my asking price would have been a year or two ago. So we've seen a slow down of the housing price escalation of previous years, but it has not really gone backwards around here. Plus, I don't even consider my house a typical "investment" in that I bought this house to live in and enjoy, not to "make money"...though of course I always assumed I would not loose money on it. In spite of the current economy, I am still optimistic that when I do eventually sell it, it will prove that I have made a decent investment....of course I should add that I purchased this house back in 1978 and the low end value of it today is still at least 10X what I paid for it.
I have little or no interest in owning or managing rental property.
With financing being so tight now, it is harder for people to qualify and get the magnitude of loans they were getting a few years ago, so that basically reduces the buyer pool and lowers "real" demand, i.e., not people who wish they could buy, people who are in the market who actually can buy. Lower demand = lower prices. The prices in my immediate area have held up since the housing is above average price, so only a more afluent buyer will even be in the market here, and there still seems to be more of a demand to live here than a supply of housing because it's such a great area, with no significant new construction possible.
I wish my 401K held up as well as my house
