Staggering from boom to bust

So if you're comparing the investment returns of stocks and housing, you can't just look at price appreciation. You have to add the dividend, which is big for houses (the roof) and smallish for most stocks.

2. If house prices regress to the long-term inflation-adjusted trend line very rapidly, they might need to fall 25%, as the story says. But it's also possible that they could drift horizontally for a decade. In that case, they would be invisibly losing value because of the ravages of inflation, but it might not seem as painful to homeowners.

3. As I said in the cover story podcast, I'm not advising buyers to stop shopping. If you see a place you really like, you think the price is fair and affordable, and you aren't planning to move again anytime soon, you should seriously consider buying it. read more