Heads or Tails?

They say that no coin is so thin that it doesn't have two sides, and home prices are not so different. Many who invested like mad in real estate the last few years felt the giddiness of buying low and selling high. Investors are feeling the pinch now, but what about the regular folks who buy and sell their homes not for profit, but simply because they want security for themselves and their families?

Sellers want rising home values, but buyers need affordable housing. Unfortunately, these two concepts are often mutually exclusive. Sellers may not feel as positively about the markets right now, but as long as your house is your "home," you shouldn't be feeling as much pressure as someone who bought a property simply to "flip" it for profit.

If your income remains level, and home prices are falling, it actually makes you richer. How so? Because now you can buy more home for the money.

Ultimately, lower home prices will benefit buyers and the economy. Imagine what your children or grandchildren would be facing if home prices had continued their meteoric rise of a few years ago.

It's easy to see that affordable housing is more important than wild appreciation (which must correct itself eventually). Widespread homeownership results in economic growth, so try to understand and not to fear lower home prices.