“If you bought into this premise two and a half years ago and decided not to buy because you thought things had peaked, you missed a huge run up in the value of what would now be your home”
The median prices has been flat for over two years in San Diego. This means if you tried to flip a house any time in the last two years, you would basically be out 6% in comission and closing costs. Many neighborhoods are down 10% from two years ago.
Phoenix is a little different because its run-up came later. However, this site was founded on San Diego data.