Do Market Values Really Cycle or Decrease?

[Manco Snead]

Greetings good people,

During these times of low inventory and high selling prices I would like to raise the question of whether or not the market actually cycles as is sometimes said. I have read about the 7 year cycle, but is it true? Or do market values not so much decrease as simply plateau, as the below graph may suggest. (The big crash being the strange exception.) Or am I missing something? This graph is from an article (Historical Home Prices: Monthly Median Value in the U.S. from 1953-2020) from website dqydj.com and states of the graph "This data uses the non-seasonally adjusted housing price index data from Robert Shiller and the FHFA to mash up these values." I have no affiliation with this website.

Would like to hear other peoples thoughts on the topic as it relates to the question "When is the right time to buy?"