Reply #16: I don't think the bottom has been reached yet

[jobendorfer]

Consider this data from 2009, (2010 data isn't available yet, or at least I couldn't find it):

Median House Price = $216,700
------------------------------------ = 4.35
Median Household Income = $49,777

The median house price needs to fall to between 2.5 and 3.0 x median house hold income ( $125,000 -> $150,000 ).
A ratio of 2.5 to 3 x annual income was the standard used to control mortgage risk for decades, until deregulation made everything "better".
When the housing prices fall into this band, families will be able to buy houses again and the housing market will start to recover.
We're not there yet.

J.