Is the Real Estate Market Crashing?

Are home prices crashing, or just catching their breath? The chart below tells the real story behind what’s happening in the housing market.

This chart tracks how much U.S. home prices have gone up or down each month since the early ’90s. Blue bars mean prices went up, red bars mean they dropped.

You can clearly see the housing crash around 2008 (lots of deep red), and then the big COVID-era boom with prices shooting up fast (tall blue bars around 2021).

Lately, prices have started to flatten out a bit, some months slightly down, some up, but it’s a far cry from the crash days. Bottom line: the market is cooling, not collapsing.

And remember, prices don’t just drop or collapse coast to coast. They are local and regional.