Well said. It hasn’t changed for me, though I’m not looking in SD. A year ago anyone who asked me how long I thought prices would fall looked at me incredulously when I said (conservatively) 3-5 years.
Sure things have gotten better for those waiting, but look at the bigger picture and there is not a single factor that can help housing reach a bottom any time soon:
-Lending statndards: back where they should be
-Alt-A/Prime resets: as the bubble went on the lending got worse. A lot of damage still to come
-Inventory: may be down seasonally but foreclosures set records every month
-Sales: dominated by REOs and hurting other must sell inventory, or those who just want to sell
-Jobs: unemployment up, growth negative
-Interest rates: LIBOR up, and talk grows of Fed hikes
-Demographics: baby boomers will downsize, move to lower cost areas
-Savings: flat or negative, worst in history
-Inflation: soaring prices = less to spend on housing
This isn’t a doomsday dream list, it’s reality. It doesn’t mean you can’t find a good deal, it just means that good deal could get better.