Real Estate Downtrend

[Steven Caldwell]

With the state of the economy right now does anyone worry about the property they own decreasing in value by a huge amount(2008 crash). Being new to this and whatnot im curious to see peoples opinions

[Michael Facchini]

@Steven Caldwell, I can speak for hours on this....but I'll try to keep this brief so my fingers don't fall off.  As @Jonathan Klemm stated, this time around is different in many ways from 2008.  One main difference of 2008 was an abundance of inventory (more supply vs demand), and of course riskier mortgage products in a less regulated market.  I do feel appreciation in various areas of the country has soared a bit quick over the last 18 months, and we should see that start to taper off, however I am not expecting a crash.  Rising interest rates will slow down this hot market, but not turn it off.  Demand is expected to continue to rise, with the largest generation of first-time buyers continuing to enter the market for years to come, yet inventory will not be keeping up with that demand.  Labor (contractors) remains a serious issue, materials remain inflated, and land is at a premium - therefore, builders won't be able to fill this gap anytime soon, especially the lower price-points.  Furthermore, in major cities like Chicago, there simply aren't a lot of places to build and add units other than going up into the sky or sprawling out past the further-reaching suburbs.  So, it's all market and sub-market dependent of course, but overall nationally things appear strong in the housing market for years to come, in my opinion.