"So, if we bought before the market peaked and have no intention of selling in the next five years, how scared should we be?"
Better yet, if you sold an expensive house and bought a cheaper home, as my mother did in a old age downsizing move, should you be smiling at this news?
If you are in a home and wanting to keep property taxes lower, you might be glad for lower valuations.
And other winners are would-be new home buyers: Crazy housing prices made it impossible for some to buy, and that was a bad thing.
Some of the froth will recede and has receded, but that's not much worse than the fact that the computer you bought last year is cheaper.
The only real losers in the burst bubble environment are realtors, house flippers, and to some extent builders (although there will always be some demand for new housing, albeit at lower rate).
Also, I believe a hidden reason for housing price pressure has been the flood of immigrants in recent years. Does a burs t bubble therefore indicate that perhaps that flood has slowed a bit?
Bottom-line, the news is a mixed bag, but they report all news as bad.
When our son graduates from high school and heads off to college, he'll be coming home to a different state.
I guarantee it.