Yale economist, Robert Shiller, thinks we are only halfway to the bottom of the housing market, and, in consequence, that the economy’s general recovery is still 3-5 years off.
See a five minute interview with Shiller, and a chart that he produced on the housing market (based on his research), here.
Schiller’s trend data suggests that a house that you might have purchased at the peak of the housing bubble for $210,000 and can now get for, say, $155,000, will probably be worth about $100,000 three-five years from now.
I was starting to gain a bit of optimism about the economy’s prospects for 2010, but Shiller’s analysis is sobering.
On an upnote, young people and renters should be able to find affordable housing over the coming years.