Most of the movement in prices will come during relatively brief periods at different times of the year; not at a steady and constant rate throughout the year. There will be these brief 6 and 8 week periods during different times of the year, like before and after the spring selling season and maybe just prior to the holidays. The rest of the time the pricing will appear to be stable, even if the pricing is lower than the previous plateau.

These periods of movement are so brief and the volumes involved include so much diversity among the housing stock that it’s hard to track the movement in real time.

Think of it this way; if an area or market segment loses a total of 10% of its value during a single year, the majority of the movement probably happened in 3% or 4% chunks during different times of the year. Taken by themselves they aren’t much, but over time they add up.

You guys just need to be patient – time is definitely on your side, and when that changes you’ll be among the first to see it because you’ll be looking for it.