This article again shows why a picture (or graph) is worth a thousand words.
Look how they vainly try to explain in words…
In the Surprise ZIP code of 85374, home prices hit a low for the year in August. Home prices in the Buckeye ZIP 85396 hit a high in February and have been yo-yoing since. In the Gilbert ZIP 85297, prices have been falling since June. In the north Valley, prices in Anthem fell to a 2006 low in August.
… what is obvious in a graph.
I thought the tone of the article was downbeat but realistic, although commenter Clay thought it had, “The usual B.S. about ‘soft landings,’ ‘correction,’ and ‘this is great for housing.'”
The article says;
“Most people who bought on the fringes last year are likely going to have to hold on for at least three years or sell for a loss,” said real estate agent Margie O’Campo de Castillo of Phoenix-based Arizona Dream Realty.
Perhaps, ‘three more years or sell for a loss.’
Those people who bought a home on the fringes to live in should be fine. They’ll have a great new home to live in and room to raise a family if want. The appreciation will come, but not as quickly as they would like.
Those who stretched to buy an “investment” could get hurt bad by the slow or, in some places, negative appreciation. Real bad. The leverage that makes real estate such a great investment is a double edged sword.