Usually when someone even mentions a slowdown they are told that for over a hundred years people morons really have been predicting housing prices going down on the BP forums and overtime they end up with a big pie in their stupid face.  

-We can't predict future outlier events.

Some markets won't be as bad as others, but there is still a huge housing demand and little supply which makes it a little less predictable.

As Will said, probably too many variables to make any solid predictions at this point. 

A few more comments as you think about how to weigh the overall value of contractor vs no contractor in terms of time, ease, and predictability.

Predictable and kind of sad.

(link below) Currently, ND is ranked 3rd in per capita GDP, and is predicted to be 1st within the next few years.

Don't get me wrong, I really like MTRs and believe this space will continue to grow in the future but it can be hard to predict. 

There was no way this could of been predicted.

Appreciation is too difficult to predict.