We’re in the same boat. We sold our home a year ago and we’re trying to time the market.
While I don’t think a drastic decline is certain, a reversion to more normal pricing is probable. That can happen two ways (or more); either prices come down quickly or they stay flat for a long period as values rise to meet current prices.
In the meantime, the cost of renting is much more favorable than buying. At a multiple of 28.5 (take the price of a residential property and divide it by the total annual rent), we’d have to see five years of mid-teens percentage appreciation just to break even.
As for the asking price data, it’s very hard to conclude anything from that data. It’s subject to so many questionable factors. The source of the data, realtors, is not without a huge conflict of interest.
Stick in there, it may take another year before prices start to decline. In the meantime, you have the lifestyle of a renter, never a bad thing.
