gzz: the maximum time period between recessions since WW II has been something like a decade. By that metric alone, US is likely to go back into recession in the next few years. Southern CA property market is highly volatile. It doesn’t take a change in interest rates, just a loss of confidence (say due to stocks falling 25%) to correct prices.

As to prices being below their peak, so what? That’s like saying Bernie Madoff is mentally healthy as compared to Charles Manson.