Towards the end of last year, a bunch of housing experts were saying that home prices were going to take a huge nosedive in 2023. And you know how the media can be, right? They jumped right on that news and started publishing headlines that basically shouted, "The housing market is doomed!" Yeah, it's no surprise that all this negative coverage made a lot of folks start questioning whether the residential real estate market was really as strong as it seemed.

If this situation has got you wondering whether you should put a hold on your own moving plans, let me break it down for you.

Home Prices Never Crashed

Disregard what you saw in the headlines. The actual data shows home prices were remarkably resilient and performed far better than the media would have you believe (see graph below):

This graph pulls data from three reliable sources and shows that prices have actually bounced back after only a little dip across the country. It's a far cry from the big crash that everyone was freaking out about.

The red lines on the chart show that there were some small declines, but they didn't last very long. Like Nicole Friedman from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) explains:

““Home prices aren’t falling anymore. . . The surprisingly quick recovery suggests that the residential real-estate downturn is turning out to be shorter and shallower than many housing economists expected . . .””

— Wall Street Journal (WSJ)

You may have seen some news stories making a fuss about home prices "pulling back". But here's the real deal - that little dip we saw in prices? Well, it's already behind us. In fact, the latest data tells us that home prices aren't falling anymore. Nope, they're actually on the rise again!

What’s Next for Home Prices?

So here's the scoop from all those experts out there: they're saying that home prices are going to keep on rising in the coming years. But don't worry, it's not going to be as crazy fast as it has been lately. We're talking about a return to normal levels for the market. And you know what? That's actually a good thing! So yeah, we're still going to see homes appreciating in value, just not at lightning speed like before. But hey, slow and steady wins the race, right?

Some news outlets are saying that the growth in home prices is slowing down. And guess what? They're putting out stories that make it seem like prices are actually falling again. Can you believe that? The thing is, these misleading headlines are starting to mess with how homebuyers feel about the whole situation. I mean, who wouldn't be affected, right? You can actually see the impact it's having on people's opinions by looking at the Consumer Confidence Survey from Fannie Mae. They've even got a handy graph to show you.

Even though fewer Americans have been thinking that prices will drop lately, the most recent Consumer Confidence data says that this belief has actually increased recently (shown in red). And you know what's weird? Home price data is showing that prices are rising, not falling. It just goes to show how much of an impact the media still has on what people think.

I just wanted to remind you not to get caught up in all the negative headlines and become part of a statistic. The good news is that home prices aren't falling anymore, and we've got data from various sources to back it up. So, keep your head up, and don't let the fear get to you!

Bottom Line

I know the news can sometimes make things seem really bad, but guess what? The numbers actually show that home prices are not dropping anymore. So, don't let those scary headlines freak you out or make you put your plans on hold. Let's chat so that I can be a reliable source for you, cutting through all the noise and giving you the real scoop on what's happening in our area.