You have not seen anything yet in the housing market. Never have so many been upside down in their house they couldnt sell it if they wanted to. These people now have to have at least a 690 beacon score with 20% down and income to justify the full payment. So if you have limited buyers , you could steal a house and hope you break even by renting it, not me sit a bit longer.
It's not the down, it's not the market, it's not even whether or not you're upside down. It's whether or not you can make the payment.
Some are reluctant to buy, but in soCal we can now get cash flow on rentals. Hard to do 2 years ago. I put an investor in a house in Hemet in July for 130,000. He's getting $425 a month positive cash flow.
RE continues to be a great long-term investment, tax break, and where else can you get the leverage that RE provides?
People that want safe, liquid, and rate of return should try tax advantaged, indexed universal life. Good method of building your retirement also.