If I could buy a rental right now that almost breaks even… and by most all accounts rents dont go down…then why not park my cash (that 20% down) in a CD for a year or two, and then buy that same condo, that in all likelihood will depreciate, and I will do much better then breaking even?
Also sdsundevil I have already seen depreciation in many zip codes that exceeds 10% of thier highs just 2 years ago. In other zip codes for attached housing I have seen even more substantial numbers. If you want check out 1 or 2 bedroom condos in Mission Valley, UTC or San Carlos. So I think that your correction of 20% over 5 years does not correlate with the data I have seen. The simple statement by sdrealtor that he is seeing reasonable pricing now that is approaching the break even point in and of itself supports a substantial depreciation that has ALREADY occurred in the attached housing market for certain zip codes.
