Insulation/Sheetrock - These are pretty standard rates and shouldn't fluctuate much. 

I use it to track my credit, and I've always found that it accurately represents my credit situation.I wouldn't get too bent out of shape over minor fluctuations in your credit score.

If a family stays for a long time and costs don't fluctuate, how do you get around the issues currently seen with rent control? 

If you have an article, post, or explanation for this, I would greatly appreciate it.Rents fluctuate within a more narrow band than prices.  

Prices can fluctuate I agree, but a downturn as the original post states is a different animal in my opinion.

Obviously that fluctuates based on the property and area though.

On the surface, the answer appears to be simple...BUT one will caution that in order to make a true determination, it requires a lot of actual research on a local market/neighborhood and the answer is actually much more in-depth...so take this with a grain of salt..lolClass A- Newer Growth Areas (new construction, rebuilding of infrastructure, core fundamentals reflect strong growth, low unemployment, pro-active government, home prices increasing, vacancy rates decreasing, demand slightly higher than supply, School Districts usually have a 5+ rating, etc.)Class B - Older yet Stable Areas (Little new construction, no major fluctuation in growth or reduction of population, little to no change in employment opportunities or unemployment rates, infrastructure is old yet functional and not being updated, supply and demand are fairly equalized, rental vs home ownership relatively equal, home prices stabilized, School Districts usually have a 3-5 rating, low to moderate crime rates, etc.) 

I think the other confusion is that we often think of dollars as something of fixed value, but the value of the dollar fluctuates just like everything else.

I bought the house for 145k and it's worth close to 300k now although we know that will fluctuate with the current market.

With interest rates where they are I would take advantage of that if you're comfortable you have a long term job that is not subject to market fluctuations (e.g. deep water drilling or onshore fracking).My only other question is this: are you sq ft rent rates / investment in California significantly higher than Houston that would prevent you from selling the CA property?