this is short sighted. while its 'nice' to buy when the housing market is going down, essentially what you are saying is that a house should not appreciate in

this is short sighted. while its 'nice' to buy when the housing market is going down, essentially what you are saying is that a house should not appreciate in value. but in reality, there is virtually no good reason to own a home unless its an appreciating asset. after owning a home, i have nightmares about water. that was before the city flooded my basement with 3 feet of water (destroyed my washer, dryer, furnace, water heater) and said they have an ordinance that they cant be sued by accidents they cause. you may not get it, but anything that breaks, YOU MUST FIX. it doesn't matter if you had a hard day at work or you have to take your kid to the doctor that day, it has to get done and you need to have money available to do it. the fact that homes ARE appreciating assets is what makes them so good everyone (even if you rent) I think the better question to ask is, when will certain people learn that a continually 'weak' housing market is bad for everyone. dips in the housing market give good opportunities for people to get a home cheap, but they are still bad overall for the economy. its also only an opportunity if the housing market turns around and goes back into its upward trajectory. the city collects taxes on me even though my home is not on the market. when I bought my home, I spent at least 8000$ at home depot, IKEA, etc, plus another 3000$ on a new roof and water heater (because the existing water heater was from the 70s and super energy inefficient). see, even good for the green crowd. although i wish i hadnt, the city was about to destroy it a year later anyways. i digress. and while you think a trashed housing market would be great at lowering your rent, you might be surprised to find out landlords would have no incentive to keep your facilities nice if it was not a profitable endeavor.